Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan on Thursday told a
regular press conference that the next UN Secretary-General should
come from an Asian country since an Asian has not held the post for
34 years.
Kong added that some Asian countries have already put forward
candidates.
UN secretary-general Kofi Annan completes his second term in
office this December. Under the UN Charter, a new secretary-general
is nominated by 15 member states of the UN Security Council and is
confirmed by the 191-nation General Assembly.
Iran nuclear standoff
China hopes that Russia's invitation to Iran to establish a
joint venture in uranium enrichment will help break the current
stalemate on the nuclear issue, Kong said.
China supports Russia's proposal and has always backed every
effort to enhance the international treaty of nuclear
non-proliferation, Kong said.
Russia's top nuclear energy official Sergei Kiriyenko said on
Wednesday that a high-ranking Iranian delegation will visit Russia
on February 16 to discuss the proposal. If Iran accepts the
proposal, it would be the first to be involved in uranium
enrichment on Russian territory.
As part of international efforts to solve the Iranian nuclear
dispute, Russia has proposed that uranium enrichment - the most
sensitive part of the nuclear energy process - be carried out under
a joint venture within their borders.
Iran resumed research on uranium enrichment last month and
announced it had ended all voluntary cooperation with the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This included impromptu
UN inspections of its nuclear production sites and suspension of
uranium enrichment after the IAEA voted last week to report the
Iranian nuclear issue to the UN Security Council.
Uranium enriched at low levels can fuel nuclear reactors, but if
enriched further can be used for nuclear weapons.
Pakistani president to visit China
Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf will pay a state
visit to China from February 19 to 23 at the invitation of Chinese
President Hu
Jintao, Kong announced.
Musharraf's visit marks the 55th anniversary of establishment of
China-Pakistan diplomatic ties, Kong said.
China and Pakistan will discuss how to further promote the
friendly and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two, Kong
said, adding that they will also exchange views on international
and regional issues of common concern.
The related departments from the two sides will also sign some
documents of cooperation, Kong said.
Musharraf will also visit southwest China's Sichuan Province.
China and Pakistan are friendly neighbors who share "an
all-weather friendship and all-scope cooperation," Kong said. "I
believe that Musharraf's visit will help push forward the strategic
partnership of cooperation between the two countries."
Resumption of six-party Korean nuclear
talks
Kong called on the participating countries of the six-party
talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue work towards reopening
the negotiations at an early date.
He said that all concerned parties, namely China, North Korea,
the US, South Korea, Russia and Japan, have kept "conducive" and
"positive" contacts in recent months.
The first phase of the fifth round of the six-party talks was
held in Beijing last November.
Kong conceded that financial sanctions imposed on North Korea by
the US represent a "new impediment and complicating factor".
The US froze the US-based assets of eight North Korean companies
last October, accusing them of proliferating weapons of mass
destruction. Pyongyang refused to resume the talks as a
result.
Cyprus issue
China deems the Cyprus issue should be resolved fairly and
reasonably, and in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions,
Kong said.
China is very concerned about the Cyprus issue, Kong said,
adding that the Chinese government has always called for full
respect for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity
of Cyprus.
He said the legitimate rights and interests of both Turkish and
Greek Cypriots should be guaranteed.
"Any solution should take into account the interests and concerns
of both parties," Kong added.
Kong pointed out that China supports what UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan has done to accelerate the process of resolution.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, with the Greek-controlled
part in the south, and Turkish part in the north.
UN-led efforts to reunite the island failed in April 2004 when
Greek Cypriots rejected a UN reunification plan in a referendum,
which was approved by the Turkish Cypriots in the north.
(Xinhua News Agency February 10, 2006)