Japan's decision to freeze loans to China is detrimental to
China-Japan relations, Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Qin Gang,
said at a press conference in Beijing Thursday.
According to Kyodo News, Japanese Vice Foreign Minister,
Yasuhisa Shiozaki, told a ruling Liberal Democratic Party panel
meeting Thursday that the loans to China would be temporarily
frozen and the decision on the sum of the loans would be assessed
at a meeting of the Japanese cabinet.
Qin said the loans not only had some positive effects on China's
economic and social development but had also provided benefits to
Japan in recent years.
"It is in the interests of the two countries to end the loans
based on the current agreement between the countries," Qin said.
"Japan's unilateral freezing of loans will not help repair
Sino-Japanese ties.
"China's position on this issue remains unchanged," he said.
"The two sides should properly resolve this issue through
consultation." He added that the two countries now faced a complex
situation with the potential for difficulties ahead.
"China has made important suggestions and taken positive steps
to improve relations with Japan," Qin said. "We hope Japan will
respond and resolve differences and problems through
consultation."
China says no to Japan's proposal on UN dues
Qin said China "firmly" opposed Japan's proposal to revise UN
payments and set a minimum rate for permanent members of the
Security Council.
Japan presented a proposal to the UN General Assembly budget
committee on March 10 indicating that each of the five permanent
council members -- the US, Russia, Britain, China and France --
should contribute at least 3 percent or 5 percent of the UN
budget.
Under the proposal China and Russia, whose dues currently
account for 2.1 percent and 1.1 percent of the total, would pay
much more each year. Qin said Japan's proposal attempted to replace
the established principle of capacity to pay with the concept of
responsibility to pay.
"The Chinese government firmly opposes it," Qin said. He said
the crux of Japan's proposal was to connect power to UN payments
thus enabling countries to buy power.
"This would undermine the basic principle of sovereign equality
in the UN Charter and severely infringe the interests of developing
countries," he said.
Qin said the principle of capacity to pay was the basis for
deciding the level of UN payments and had proved to be effective.
"It also reflects the consensus of all countries and should not be
changed."
He added that China still had a low per capita income despite
its rapid economic development. "Even so the percentage of China's
UN dues ranked ninth among the UN members and China has always
faithfully fulfilled its financial obligation to the UN."
China had always paid its UN fees on time and it also shouldered
its share of the cost of UN peace keeping as well as payments
deducted from other countries.
"As China's economy grows China is willing to make a greater
contribution," he said.
Qin said the UN financial assessment had a direct bearing on the
body’s capacity to fulfill its responsibilities.
"We hope a fair and rational scheme, consistent with the UN
Charter, will be reached based on broad consultation," he said.
The scale of financial contributions to the UN is reviewed every
three years and the General Assembly budget committee--all 191 UN
member states are represented--is due to determine the level of the
2007-2009 payments by the end of December.
China to improve legal system to solve refugee
problems
China would continue to improve its legal system to further
contribute to the resolution of refugee problems, said Qin.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, has just
finished a five-day visit to China during which he met with State
Councilor Tang
Jiaxuan and officials from the Foreign Ministry, Ministry of Commerce and
Ministry of Public Security.
The two sides increased their understanding of each other
through these meetings and reached consensus on cooperating further
on refugee affairs, said Qin, He said the visit had been
"successful."
Qin said China valued its cooperation with the Office of the UN
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
China joined the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of
Refugees and its 1967 Protocol and has relocated 300,000
Indo-Chinese refugees. This was the biggest action ever undertaken
in the history of the UN. China continued to make an active
contribution to the resolution of refugee problems, Qin said.
Putin's China tour fruitful
Russian President Putin's visit had been "fruitful" and could
further strengthen the
Sino-Russian strategic partnership of cooperation, said
Qin.
"During Putin's two-day state visit China and Russia signed 22
agreements covering politics, diplomacy, energy, investment,
finance and communications," Qin said.
Qin noted that the two countries also proposed some new ideas on
bilateral cooperation. These included pledging to coordinate
economic strategies, actively guiding and supporting local
companies of the two countries to seek new opportunities for
cooperation in each other's economic and regional development
strategies.
Qin said Putin's visit to China was significant as this year
marked the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the
China-Russia strategic partnership of cooperation and the fifth
anniversary of the Sino-Russian treaty of friendship and
cooperation.
During his visit Putin held talks and exchanged views with
President Hu Jintao
on bilateral relations and major international and regional issues
of common concern. The two presidents also signed a China-Russia
joint statement, attended the opening ceremony of the Year of
Russia in China and addressed the high-level China-Russia economic
forum. Putin also held meetings with top legislator Wu
Bangguo and Premier Wen
Jiabao.
Qin said that during Putin's visit a series of activities for
the Year of Russia in China. This pioneering project had great
significance for improving mutual understanding and promoting
cooperation.
China, US to hold 1st consultation on Latin American
affairs
US Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Thomas
Shannon, will visit China in mid-April to discuss Latin American
affairs, Qin said .
Shannon comes to China at the invitation of Zeng Gang, head of
the department of Latin American affairs under the Foreign
Ministry, Qin said at a routine press briefing on Thursday. This
will be the first consultation between the two countries on Latin
American affairs.
The two sides will exchange views on their respective relations
with Latin American countries, their policies in that part of the
world and the levels of cooperation they have. .
The consultation, part of the
China-US strategic dialogue, will help improve understanding
and trust between the two countries, Qin said.
In recent years, Qin said, China and the Latin American
countries had witnessed a rapid growth in relations because they
were all developing countries with a common interest in peace and
development.
The development of China-Latin America relations accorded with
the world trend of seeking peace, development and cooperation which
is in the best interests of all countries. It didn’t target any
third party and would not infringe upon the interests of any other
countries, explained Qin. It would promote world peace, stability
and common development, he added.
China was willing to exchange views with the US on the Latin
American situation and cooperation with Latin American nations, he
said.
President Hu to visit US in April
President Hu Jintao will make a state visit to the United States
in April. "At the invitation of US President George W. Bush, Hu
will pay a state visit to the US in mid or late April," Qin
said.
During his visit Hu will exchange views with Bush on Sino-US
relations and important international and regional issues of common
concern, explained Qin. China and the US were making preparations
for the visit and China would release official details of Hu’s
visit at the appropriate time, Qin said.
Hu's visit was agreed upon on the basis of a consensus reached
by the leaders of the two countries last year, Qin said. "The
purpose is to enhance mutual trust, expand common understanding and
advance the development of Sino-US constructive cooperation in 21st
century."
Bruneian princess to visit China
Bruneian Princess Hajah Masna will pay a visit to China from
April 3 to 9 at the invitation of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Qin
announced.
Masna visits China in the capacity of Ambassador-at-Large of
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Brunei Darussalam.
(Xinhua News Agency March 24, 2006)