China firmly opposes any foreign intervention in Hong Kong affairs, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue in Beijing Thursday at a regular news briefing.??

When asked to comment on China's position on a report from the European Commission to the European Council and European Parliament, which deals with Hong Kong affairs, Zhang said Hong Kong affairs are China's internal affairs and the Chinese government and people have the determination, capability and wisdom to well handle them.

 

She said any foreign intervention in Hong Kong affairs will be in vain and the Chinese government firmly opposes that.

 

In another development, Zhang said China will share experience with other countries on AIDS prevention during the upcoming 15th International AIDS Conference, which will be held from July 11 to 16 in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand.

 

Zhang said that Vice Minister of Public Health Wang Longde will lead a Chinese delegation to attend the conference.

 

She said AIDS is a common problem faced by the entire human society. The international community should make concerted efforts, in order to efficiently solve this problem and prevent it from deteriorating.

 

Zhang said the Chinese delegation is going to attend the meeting in a spirit of seeking international cooperation, and hopes to help solve the AIDS problem through sharing experience with other delegations.

 

Turning to Sino-Pak relations, the spokeswoman said China will make joint efforts with the Pakistani new government to promote the comprehensive cooperative relations between the two countries.

 

Zhang said that China and Pakistan traditionally enjoyed friendship and shared all-weather friendly cooperation.

 

The good neighborly friendship between China and Pakistan had seen continuous development since the two sides established diplomatic relations in 1951, she added.

 

The Chinese side was willing to join hands with the Pakistani new government to push forward the bilateral relations on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence, Zhang said.

 

Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain was elected prime minister Tuesday by the Pakistani National Assembly. He replaced Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali after the latter resigned last Saturday.

 

Also at yesterday's briefing, the spokeswoman said China attaches great importance on the important role played by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum in the Asian region.

 

Zhang said that China always speaks highly of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), which is the most important forum in the Asia-Pacific region on cooperation in political and security fields.

 

The ARF played a positive role in further strengthening mutual trust and cooperation between its member countries, and in safeguarding the regional peace and stability, Zhang said.

 

The 11th Foreign Ministers' Meeting of the ARF will be held in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing will attend the meeting, Zhang said.

 

As to the issue concerned with the inclusion of Pakistan in the ARF, which will be discussed during the meeting, Zhang said Pakistan's participation to the ARF will be conducive for the regional peace and stability.

 

Established in 1994, the ARF was a forum of dialogues between ten ASEAN member countries and 12 countries in Asia and the Pacific plus the European Union.

 

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.

 

According to the spokeswoman, Myanmar Prime Minister Khin Nyunt will pay an official good-will visit to China from July 11 to 17 at the invitation of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

 

(Xinhua News Agency July 2, 2004)