The US Government is sending a second work team to Beijing this
week to prepare for US President George W. Bush's visit to China,
said Foreign Ministry Spokesman Kong Quan on Tuesday.
Officials from the two sides will hold talks to settle the final
schedule of the working visit of the US president February 21-22,
Kong said.
Commenting on reports that Bush announced he would increase his
defence budget by a big margin, the spokesman said China hopes the
US' defence policy will be in the interest of world peace and
development.
Kong also told reporters that Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang
Yi will host a re-opening ceremony of Chinese Embassy in Kabul on
Wednesday.
This event will mark the further development of relations between
China and Afghanistan, he said, adding that officials from the
Afghan interim government will meet Wang during his visit to
exchange views on bilateral issues.
Wang is the highest-ranking Chinese official to visit the country
since the 1970s, according to the spokesman.
Chinese Embassy in Kabul was closed for security reasons in
1993.
"Wang will go to Kabul via Pakistan," Kong said.
"Though the details are still being arranged, I believe he will
meet with officials from Pakistan and exchange in-depth views with
them on issues of common concern."
Answering an inquiry on the slump in value of the Japanese yen,
Kong reiterated that China hopes the Japanese side will take a
responsible attitude on this issue.
Failure to do so would not only hurt the economy of Japan and other
countries in the region but also impede the recovery of the world
economy, Kong warned.
At
the invitation of Nong Duc Mannh, general secretary of Central
Committee of the Communist Party of Viet Nam, President Jiang Zemin
will pay a visit to Viet Nam at the end of February, the spokesman
added.
(China
Daily February 6, 2002)