China will, like always, work hard and make other parties take a flexible and practical attitude in pushing forward the six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said Tuesday.  

With a clear-cut stand, China expects to maintain peace and stability in the peninsula which should be nuclear free, Zhang said at a press conference.

The nuclear issue is a complicated one, which needs a long process to resolve. And China believes the talks can maintain a good momentum through concerted efforts of various parties, the spokeswoman said.

The second round of six-party talks, which involve China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the United States, the Republic of Korea, Russia and Japan, is scheduled to start Wednesday morning.

The first round of talks was held in the Chinese capital last August.

(Xinhua News Agency February 25, 2004)