China hopes that the six-party talks on the nuclear issue of the
Korean Peninsula will be continued as a mechanism that serves the
interests of all parties concerned, Chinese Foreign Ministry
spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said in Beijing Tuesday.
She said such a mechanism is the most realistic way to push for
resolutions of relevant issues.
Zhang told a routine press conference Tuesday afternoon that
China hopes to see a smooth progress of the second round of the
six-party talks due to open in Beijing Wednesday.
China hopes that the talks will bear fruits and continue to be
held in the future. The current talks will be a new starting point
for peaceful resolution of the nuclear issue of the Korean
Peninsula, Zhang said, adding that China wishes that the talks will
be maintained and continued.
Delegations from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
(DPRK), Japan, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Russia and the United
States have already arrived in Beijing to attend the talks, which
also include China.
Zhang said the relevant parties have all made earnest and active
preparations for the talks. She said the Chinese delegation has
already started consultations with the other parties since
Monday.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi has held separate
consultations with representatives from Russia, the United States
and DPRK.
According to the spokeswoman, China will, as 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.
With a clear-cut stand, China expects to maintain peace and
stability in the peninsula which should be nuclear free, Zhang
said.
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 involves China, the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the United States, the
Republic of Korea, Russia and Japan.
All sides of the six-party talks hold an "open and flexible
attitude" towards the duration of the talks, said Zhang.
She said as the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula was very
complicated a solution should be sought by dialogue or through
certain mechanism.
China hoped all sides could reach consensus on certain issues,
but "that does not mean consensus can be reached on all concrete
issues", she said.
The consensus already reached by all sides was that peaceful
means were conducive to resolving the issue, she said.
Zhang urged all sides "to fully show their sincerity and
flexibility".
Asked about the trilateral talks held by the United States,
Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) before the six-party talks,
Zhang said the consultations demonstrated that all sides had made
serious preparations for the talks and hoped they would lead to
positive progress.
Delegations from the United States, the ROK and Japan held a
two-day meeting in Seoul for final policy coordination before the
six-party talks.
China is ready to work with the other five parties to push
forward the second round of talks, Zhang said.
The spokeswoman noted that the denuclearization of the Korean
Peninsula and the security concerns of relevant countries cannot be
avoided at the upcoming second-round of six-party talks and should
be equally addressed.
Zhang declined to make any comment on the issues to be discussed
at the six-party talks. She said China will continue to work with
all sides and hope the talks will bear some results.
China's stance, she said, is very clear that the peace and
stability on the Korean Peninsula should be maintained and the
peninsula should remain nuclear-free.
China has been making intensive bilateral talks with all sides
from Monday after delegations of the other five sides arrived in
Beijing. Enditem
China said it stands for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and
cites abandoning nuclear programs and solving rational concerns of
relevant sides as the two major components of the Korean Peninsula
nuclear issue.
The relevant parties will have in-depth discussions on the
Korean Peninsula nuclear issue at the second round of six-party
talks. "Questions will become clearer as the talks proceed," the
spokeswoman said.
She went on to say that China will brief on the progress of the
delegations' consultations sometime later Tuesday, possibly through
a written form.
The Chinese side hopes to safeguard peace and stability on the
Korean Peninsula and, as for how to resolve these issues, she
noted, "that are precisely what the new round of talks will
address."
China, ASEAN to hold special meeting on bird flu
Zhang announced at the press conference that China and the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will hold a special
meeting on dealing with avian influenza on March 2 in Beijing.
"Experts and officials of vice-ministerial level from relevant
departments of the ten ASEAN nations will attend the meeting at the
invitation of the Chinese side," Zhang said.
In addition, the ASEAN secretariat, the United Nations Food and
Agriculture Organization, the World Health Organization and the
World Organization for Animal Health will also participate in the
meeting.
Since December of last year, avian influenza has swept parts of
some Asian countries, including China. "We hope the meeting could
promote international communication and cooperation on the fight
against bird flu," Zhang said.
Zhang said the meeting will provide a forum for participants to
exchange their experiences on the prevention and control of the
disease and analyze the current epidemic condition in Asia.
Detailed preventative and control measures will also be worked
out at the meeting, Zhang said, adding that the measures will
include the initiative of a China-ASEAN public health cooperative
fund as well as technical cooperation and personnel training in
relevant fields.
A joint press statement will also be released at the China-ASEAN
special meeting, she said.
China opposes foreign interference in Hong Kong
affairs
China firmly opposes any other countries to interfere in its
internal affairs in any form, Zhang said.
"Hong Kong is China's Hong Kong and its affairs are the internal
affairs of China," said Zhang when asked to comment on the
so-called report on Hong Kong issued by the British Foreign
Ministry.
"It is improper for the British government to comment on the
Hong Kong affairs at random," she said.
Hong Kong is the special administrative region under the central
government and implementation of the principle of "one country, two
systems" is the fundamental guarantee for the long-term prosperity
and stability of Hong Kong, she said.
The political institutions of the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region (HKSAR) should accord with the Basic Law,
which is beneficial to the long-term stability and prosperity of
HKSAR and in the all-round and long-term interests of HKSAR, she
said.
To keep the long-term stability and prosperity is in the
interests of all Chinese people including the Hong Kong
compatriots, in the interests of the international community and
especially in the interests of foreign investors, she stressed.
She expressed her hope that the British side would keep their
promises made by British leaders of making HKSAR the bridge of
Sino-British friendship.
China values constructive partnership with India
China attaches great importance to the development of a
long-term constructive and cooperative partnership with India,
Zhang said.
She made the remark as she was commenting on Indian Defense
Minister George Fernandes' speech that the Sino-Indian relations
had entered a stage of healthy competition and mutual support.
Zhang said China appreciated the positive comment by Fernandes
on the status and development trend of relations.
The relations had entered a new stage after sustained
development in recent years, she said, adding that exchanges and
cooperation showed bright prospects.
"This was the fruit of joint efforts between the two sides and
in the interests of both countries and peoples," she said.
"The Chinese government attaches great importance to the
long-term constructive and cooperative partnership with India,"
Zhang Qiyue said.
China and India set the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence
as the basic norm for their bilateral relations half a century
ago.
Zhang said China was willing to join with India to implement
agreements reached by leaders of the two countries so as to promote
the Sino-Indian relations to a new stage.
At the beginning of the press conference, Zhang announced that
Portuguese Foreign Minister Teresa Gouveia will pay an official
visit to China from March 1 to 5 at the invitation of Chinese
Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing.
(Xinhua News Agency February 25, 2004)