On the sidelines of the G8 St. Petersburg summit Chinese
President Hu Jintao met on Sunday with the US President
George W. Bush.?
According to Chinese officials the two leaders exchanged views
on a wide range of issues which included Sino-US relations, the
Iranian nuclear situation, the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue and
the Middle East crisis.
Hu, who arrived in St. Petersburg to attend the outreach session
of the G8 summit, said that recently Sino-US relations had seen
steady development and the consensus on promoting constructive
cooperative ties was being implemented step by step.
China was willing to join with the US to work on bilateral ties
from a strategic and long-term perspective, said Hu.
He said China was willing to make joint efforts with the US to
enhance cooperation in trade and economic development, energy,
military affairs, counter-terrorism, non-proliferation, respect
each other's concerns and properly handle the sensitive issues
related to bilateral ties.
Bush said that Hu's visit to the US in April this year had been
fruitful.
The US attached great importance to relations between the two
countries, he said. The US was willing to enhance bilateral
cooperation and promote?its relations with China.?
Hu said China would continue to adopt measures to increase
imports from the US, tighten the protection of intellectual
property rights and actively?push forward?the reform of
the RMB exchange rate system.
He urged the US to properly handle China's concerns on bilateral
trade and economic cooperation, relax its limitations on high-tech
exports to China and create a fair environment for Chinese
enterprises to trade and invest in America.
Bush said the US valued the pledges made on market access and
protection of intellectual property rights and that China's
economic growth was beneficial to US businesses wishing to expand
their export markets.
He reiterated the US adherence to the one-China policy and
opposition to any unilateral action which was directed towards
"Taiwan independence."
Appreciating this stance, Hu said he hoped the US would be more
explicit in opposing and containing the separatist activities aimed
at "Taiwan independence."
The two leaders also discussed the Iranian nuclear issue. Hu
said China was against proliferation of nuclear weapons and held
that the issue should be properly resolved through diplomacy and
negotiation.
What was important was a quick resumption of negotiations, said
Hu. He added that China would continue to play a constructive role
in resolving the issue through peaceful means.
Bush said the US agreed to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue
through diplomacy and in a peaceful manner. He urged Iran to
respond to the initiative tabled by the six countries
quickly.?
In June this year the US, China, Britain, France, Russia and
Germany offered Iran a package of incentives in a bid to resolve
the nuclear subject. But so far Iran has made no official response
to the proposal.?
On the Korean Peninsula nuclear question Hu said the key to
resolving the issue was to resume the six-party talks
rapidly.?
Hu said China would remain committed to maintaining peace and
stability on the Korean Peninsula, push forward the process of the
six-party talks, make efforts to realize the goal of making the
Peninsula free of nuclear weapons through peaceful means by way of
dialogue and negotiation.
Bush said the US hoped for a peaceful solution to the issue and
called for quick resumption of the six-party talks.?
On the Middle East, Hu said China was greatly concerned with the
turbulent situation in the region urging those involved to show
restraint, not to take action which might lead to the deterioration
of affairs and to cooperate with the international community in
efforts to find a solution to the crisis. Hu called for a
re-launching of the "roadmap" process.?
Bush said the international community should make efforts to
prevent matters from running out of control. Speaking to the media
after the meeting, Hu described his talks with Bush as friendly and
candid.
Hu said enhancing consultation and coordination on major
international and regional issues was in the interests of both
countries and of vital importance to world peace and
stability.?
(Xinhua News Agency July 17, 2006)