China announced Thursday that Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee will pay an official visit from June 22 to June 27 in what
will be the first trip to China by an Indian state leader in a
decade.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan told a regular press
briefing in Beijing yesterday: "China is very encouraged by the
current Sino-Indian relationship."
Vajpayee has said he is pleased to see relations between India and
China develop smoothly in recent years, according to Kong. The
Indian leader's visit to China is expected to touch upon bilateral
relations and regional issues of common concern.
On
the long-standing border issues between the two countries, Vajpayee
expressed his hope in St. Petersburg on May 31 that a solution
could be found through peaceful negotiations acceptable to both
sides.
China also indicated that the issues should be resolved in a spirit
of equal cooperation and mutual understanding.
Turning to the situation in the Korean Peninsula, the spokesman
said China hopes that the parties concerned will not complicate or
intensify the situation regarding the nuclear issue in the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Kong said China's stance on the issue was consistent: China
supports the maintenance of peace and stability on the Korean
Peninsula and believes the peninsula should be non-nuclear.
Regarding the continued escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, the spokesman said China was deeply concerned over the
situation and condemned both suicide bombings and Israeli military
retaliation.
China condemns all violence that targets civilians and also the
sudden escalation of violence at a time when the Middle East peace
process is facing new opportunities, Kong said.
The spokesman said China appeals to Palestine and Israel to refrain
from taking any actions that would further worsen the situation in
the Middle East.
Kong stressed that China maintains that the United Nations
resolutions relating to the Middle East problem and the "land for
peace" principle established the 1991 Madrid peace conference are
the basis for peace talks in the Middle East.
At
yesterday's briefing, the spokesman confirmed that the European
Union Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy would begin his China tour
today. Chinese leaders, including Commerce Minister Lu Fuyuan,
would hold talks with Lamy.
Kong also announced the Republic of Korea (ROK) President Roh
Moo-hyun's upcoming visit to China.
According to Kong, China and the ROK are making preparations for
the visit, which will take place "in the near future."
(Sources from China Daily and Xinhua News Agency, June 13,
2003)