Tang made the statement in his meeting with US Secretary of State Colin Powell on the sidelines of the debate of the 57th UN General Assembly session, which opened Thursday at the UN headquarters in New York.

It is very important for Chinese and American leaders to have a thorough exchange of views on a wide range of issues under the current complicated and volatile situation in the world, Tang said.

Powell called Jiang's visit very significant, saying US President George W. Bush is looking forward to meeting with his Chinese counterpart.

The United States is ready to work together with the Chinese side to make the upcoming visit a success, Powell said.

China and the United States have enjoyed sound cooperation in the anti-terrorism campaign over the past year, Tang said, adding that China appreciated the recent US move to add the "Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement" to the sanctions list of terrorist groups.

China is ready to strengthen cooperation with the United States in the fight against terrorism on the basis of reciprocity and mutual benefit, Tang said.

Powell said the United States is pleased to take the move against the "Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement" and is ready to strengthen cooperation with China in the anti-terrorism field.

On the Taiwan issue, Tang said the issue is very crucial to the stability in and the development of the Sino-US relations.

Meanwhile, the Chinese foreign minister stressed the great dangers and harmfulness of the separatist activities by the forces which preach "independence of Taiwan," hoping that the United States will stop the sales of advanced weapons to Taiwan, an inalienable part of China, and refrain from sending any wrong signal to the Chinese island province.

Powell said the United States stands for the "one China" policy and abides by the three Sino-US joint communiqués.

Meanwhile, the US secretary of state also briefed Tang on the US stance on the Iraqi issue.

In return, Tang said China always holds that the Iraqi issue should be resolved by political means within the framework of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, and China is ready to play a constructive role in the efforts by the international community to seek a political settlement of the Iraqi problem.

Also on Friday, Tang met with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and spoke highly of the Sino-British relations.

(People's Daily September 14, 2002)