Noting that China has always been one of the victims of terrorism, Kong said the nation has always strongly opposed terrorism in any form and taken a series of measures to combat it.

China has actively participated in and pushed for the endorsement of counter-terrorism resolutions by the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council, Kong told Thursday's regular press briefing.

It has established a counter-terrorism consultation mechanism with many countries, including Britain, France, India, Pakistan and Russia, Kong said.

China has also taken some internal measures in the fields of finance, law, civil-aviation safety, and entry and exit management to fight and prevent terrorism, he added.

Kong said these measures have paid off and China will continue to co-operate and consult with other countries. He stressed that China will learn from the effective measures taken by other countries to strike accurately and relentlessly at terrorism.

The spokesman said global counter-terrorism efforts have achieved obvious progress since the September 11 incident last year but the task remains arduous.

He urged the international community to co-operate more and implement a comprehensive strategy based on the United Nations Charter.

"The counter-terrorism efforts should treat the issue by looking into both the root cause and symptoms of terrorism and, at same time, avoid linking terrorism with a specific country, nation or religion,'' Kong said.

Kong said the counter-terrorism effort in Afghanistan is part of global counter-terrorism.

"China, as a neighbour of Afghanistan, has taken part in the peace-building and restoration process of Afghanistan,'' he said.

Turning to the situation in Iraq, Kong confirmed that the United States' Bush administration has contacted China on the issue.

"The core of the Iraq issue is the complete and effective implementation of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions,'' Kong said.

"Iraq should resume its co-operation with the UN and accept the return of UN inspectors to Baghdad, and Iraqi concern for its territorial integrity and sovereignty should be respected,'' he added.

Kong said China opposes the use or threat of force to solve the issue and has always believed that the issue should be solved in a political way within the framework of the United Nations.

Responding to a report that Israel's Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday in favour of the deportation of Palestinian sister and brother Intisar and Kifah Ajouri, accused by Israel of assisting their brother Ali to carry out a bombing, Kong urged Israel not to make any move that could hamper efforts to relieve tension in the Middle East.

Commenting on Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's September 17 visit to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Kong said China hopes that the situation on the Korean peninsula will improve, which would benefit all East Asian countries.

(China Daily September 6, 2002)