A Foreign Ministry spokesperson said yesterday that the issue of
the RMB exchange rate is likely to be discussed at the upcoming
G8+5 summit.
"If relevant countries are interested in it, I
think the issue will be discussed," Liu Jianchao said at a regular
news briefing.
The G8 summit outreach session will be held in the
UK between the G8 and the leaders of China, India, Brazil, South
Africa and Mexico. President Hu Jintao
will attend at the invitation of UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Liu said the summit will mainly focus on the global
economy and climate change, and Hu will present China's policy and
actions on its energy demands and the harmonious development of
society and economy, and put forward certain cooperative
proposals.
The spokesperson said Hu's participation is aimed
at enhancing communication between developed and developing
countries and improving understanding between them on key
international issues and common challenges.
When asked whether China is willing to join the G8,
Liu said "China attaches great importance to its influence and role
in international affairs. We are willing to improve communication
and cooperation with it."
SCO summit
On Hu's attendance at the summit meeting of the
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)
in the Kazakhstani capital of Astana, Liu said member states will
exchange views on improving cooperation in fighting the "three evil
forces" of terrorism, extremism and separatism, safeguarding
regional security and improving economic and trade cooperation.
There are reports that India, Pakistan and Iran
will also attend the SCO summit as observers. Liu said the SCO is
an open organization and those countries' attendance as observers
will help improve their cooperation with the SCO.
"But as for the expansion of SCO membership, it
requires consultation of all SCO member states," Liu said.
Vice FM's Japan tour
Liu said China hopes Vice Foreign Minister Dai
Bingguo's attendance of the second round of Sino-Japanese
strategic talks can help increase common understanding between the
two countries and create conditions for the improvement of
bilateral relations.
Dai left on Thursday morning for Japan, and will
confer with Japanese Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Shotaro
Yachi on relations and issues of common concern.
Liu said Dai's attendance is "another important
effort" from China to improve ties. The talks will help enhance
mutual understanding and expand consensus, he added.
"We expect the two sides can conduct deep
discussion on problems in Sino-Japanese relations, and mark out the
future development of bilateral ties," Liu said.
The first round of talks, also attended by Dai and
Yachi, was conducted in Beijing from May 13 to 14. The two sides
agreed to continue the dialogue process, and held that the two-day
dialogue was positive and helpful.
He said that at present, Sino-Japanese political
relations are at their worst period since the normalization of
bilateral ties. China demands that Japan make concrete efforts on
the improvement of relations, and take a "correct, responsible"
attitude toward historical issues.
"We ask Japan to properly handle the Taiwan issue,
which is our serious concern, keep its promise on it and avoid
official contacts with Taiwan authorities in any form," Liu
said.
He said although severe problems exist between the
two countries, China still holds a positive attitude on promoting
Sino-Japanese relations.
Japanese court's rejection of compensation for
Chinese forced laborer
The spokesperson urged Japan to properly handle the
issue of a Japanese court's denial of compensation for a Chinese
forced laborer.
"It was a serious crime committed by Japanese
militarists to forcefully take Chinese laborers to Japan and
enslave them during World
War II," Liu said.
He urged the Japanese government to take up its due
accountability with a highly responsible attitude toward history,
and properly handle the issue concerning a Chinese forced
laborer.
The Tokyo High Court on Thursday denied
compensation of 20 million Japanese yen (US$183,000) to the family
of Liu Lianren, a late forced laborer who escaped from a worksite
toward the end of World War II and hid in mountains for about 13
years unaware the war had ended.
The high court overturned a 2001 first-instance
verdict of the Tokyo District Court that for the first time
supported compensation to a foreign national forcibly brought to
Japan for labor during the war.
Six-party talks
Liu said that there were "positive" signs for a
resumption of six-party
talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue and called for the
parties concerned to seize the opportunity, and show flexibility
and commitment to restart them as soon as possible.
He said China was in close contact with Pyongyang
and would continue pushing for a resumption of the talks that also
involve the US, South Korea, Russia and Japan.
Pyongyang last week expressed its willingness to
return to the negotiating table in July if the US can "acknowledge
and respect" it as an equal partner.
Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, the
top US negotiator to the talks, called Pyongyang to return to the
table as soon as possible through the US Embassy in Seoul's
website.
"If we can agree on a date -- I hope in the month
of July -- the US side looks forward to returning to the
negotiating table to conclude these talks with the sense of respect
and equality that all good negotiations must have," Hill wrote in a
statement on the website. "Washington is ready to take action."
The US said on Wednesday it would give 50,000
metric tons of food as humanitarian aid to Pyongyang, describing it
as not related to the six-party talks. Seoul is likely to offer
Pyongyang 400,000 tons of food aid.
Reconciliation between Sudanese
government, opposition NDA welcomed
China welcomes the reconciliation realized between
the Sudanese government and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA),
Liu said.
He said the Chinese side will, as always, promote
friendly and reciprocal cooperation with Sudan when asked to
comment on the comprehensive reconciliation deal signed in Cairo
last Saturday, a move believed to change the political landscape of
the conflict-ridden African country.
The agreement, signed by Sudan's First Vice
President Ali Osman Taha and NDA leader Mohamed Osman al-Merghani,
ends 16 years of hostilities between Khartoum and the country's
largest opposition group.
The NDA, an umbrella opposition group, includes a
dozen or so large northern political parties, trade union
representatives and the southern insurgent Sudan People's
Liberation Movement.
Liu cited the agreement as another major
achievement scored by the Sudanese government in the process of its
national reconciliation after peace was realized between the north
and the south of the country at the beginning of this year.
"It is conducive to the promotion of stabilization
of the situation in Sudan," he said.
Thai PM to visit
China
Liu announced that Thai Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra will visit from June 30 to July 2 at the invitation of
Premier Wen
Jiabao.
(Xinhua News Agency, China Daily June 24,
2005)