China and Japan agreed to resolve the East China Sea dispute
through dialogue and consultation following a new round of two-day
talks in Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Kong Quan said on
Tuesday.
The two sides have also had an in-depth exchange of views on
launching negotiations about the demarcation of the continental
shelf of the East China Sea and promoting the joint development of
marine resources in the area, Kong said.
According to the spokesperson, the consultation was presided
over by Cui Tiankai, director of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's
Asian Department, and Kenichiro Sasae, director-general of
the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanic Affairs Bureau.
Both sides agreed to hold a third round of talks in Tokyo in the
near future.
Kong also expressed strong condemnation for Japanese leaders'
"not correctly treating history."
He said that Japanese politicians have ignored the strong
condemnation from other Asian countries for Japan's wartime
aggression. They have also denied the verdicts reached by the
International Military Tribunal.
Masahiro Morioka, the Japanese parliamentary secretary for
health, labor and welfare published an article recently on his
personal website, where he states that "Class-A (WWII) war
criminals are no longer criminals" and "Tokyo trial is against
international laws."
Earlier last week, another Japanese politician Kyuma Fumio,
chairman of the Policy Research Council of Liberal Democratic
Party, also defended the Class-A war criminals. China strongly
condemned his rhetoric. "This really makes people doubt the role
Japan plays in the international community," Kong said.
This year marks the 60th
anniversary of the allied victory of World War II.
Commenting on the failure of the passage of the EU Constitution
in France, Kong said that China has always supported the
integration of the European Union and would like to see more
achievements in its political alliance.
A French referendum on Sunday overwhelmingly rejected the EU
Constitution. The French "no" is very likely to affect other EU
member states that have also planned a popular vote, such as the
Netherlands, Britain, Poland, Denmark and Ireland.
The EU Constitution aims to improve EU integration. All 25 EU
members must ratify the text for it to take effect as planned by
November 1, 2006. Nine have already done so including Austria,
Hungary, Italy, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia and
Spain.
"We hope to see a bigger role for the EU in the international
affairs," Kong said.
On a separate note, Kong said that the informal meeting of
foreign ministers from China, Russia and India, due to be held on
June 2 in Vladivostok, Russia, is an important one.
He said that China, Russia and India have maintained sound
relations and cooperation with one another. The three nations share
similar views on pushing forward democracy in international
relations as well as safeguarding world peace and stability.
The three nations also have similar concerns, Kong acknowledged.
The foreign ministers' meeting will help promote mutual
understanding, increase contacts and coordinate the positions of
the three nations on major international issues.
During the meeting, the three foreign ministers will also confer
on cooperation and consultations among the three nations in
all spheres, as well as on current major international and regional
issues, he said.
In another development, Kong said China and other members of the
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)
will discuss how to cement regional economic cooperation, and
"fight the three evil forces of terrorism, separatism and
extremism" at their forthcoming meeting.
He said the foreign ministers of SCO member countries would hold
a meeting on June 4 in Kazakhstan to discuss these issues in
preparation for a meeting of their state leaders immediately
after.
The SCO was formed in Shanghai in 2001 aiming to boost regional
security and economic benefits. Its members include China,
Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Moving to Haiti, Kong said that China is consulting all relevant
parties about extending the mandate of UN peacekeepers in that
Caribbean country.
"The extension of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in
Haiti should be helpful to strengthen the political guidance of the
UN Security Council," he said. "The mandate and priorities of the
mission should be adjusted in the light of the situation in Haiti.
The ultimate aim of the extension should be pushing the peace
process there."
The UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti, with its 6,000
peacekeepers including about 140 Chinese policemen, will see its
mandate expire on June 1. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the
interim government of Haiti are hopeful that the mandate can be
extended by one year.
China sent a 125-member peacekeeping riot police force to Haiti
last September, the first time it has assisted a UN peacekeeping
mission abroad.
On the just concluded state visit of New Zealand Prime Minister
Helen Clark, Kong said: "
China and New Zealand have developed a sound relationship over
recent years and bilateral cooperation is expanding into larger
areas."
"We believe her visit has greatly advanced bilateral ties," he
said.
Clark left Beijing on Tuesday afternoon after a three-day
working visit. During the visit, both President Hu Jintao
and Premier Wen
Jiabao held talks with her.
The two sides had an exchange of views on bilateral ties,
regional and international affairs and vowed to promote the
building of a China-New Zealand free trade area (FTA).
Kong described the three rounds of FTA talks between China and
New Zealand as "smooth on the whole" and "having made constant
progress."
He attributed the progress to the constructive and active
attitude adopted by both sides.
"We hope the two sides can reach an agreement soon through
friendly talks and consultations, so as to make the economic and
trade relationship achieve fast progress on a brand-new basis," he
said.
China and New Zealand started FTA talks on December 6,
2004. The third round of talks was held from May 18 to May 20 in
Wellington, during which the two sides held discussions on trade,
service and investment issues. It was agreed that the next round of
talks would be held in Beijing in late July.
On other state visits, Bolivian Foreign Minister Juan Ignacio
Siles Del Valle will pay an official visit from June 10 to 16.
The eighth joint committee of economic and trade cooperation
between
China and Bolivia will be held during the visit, Kong
said.
In addition to Beijing, Siles will also visit Shanghai and Xi'an,
home of the terra-cotta warriors.
Equatorial Guinea's Minister of Foreign Affairs, International
Cooperation and Francophone Affairs Pastor Micha Ondo Bile will
visit from June 6 to 10.
(Xinhua News Agency, CRI.com June 1, 2005)