In a meeting with US Secretary of State Colin Powell Wednesday on the sideline of the annual meeting of the Eighth ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), Tang said China is always ready to establish friendly and good-neighborly relations with its Asian neighbors on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence.

This is the first time that the two men have met since US President George Bush took office in January this year. Powell is going to visit Beijing later this week after he attended ASEAN Regional Forum meetings in Hanoi

Tang said China and the United States could increase their cooperation in maintaining peace and stability in Asia-Pacific.

The Sino-US relations are at a crucial stage at present, and some improvement has recently occurred in the bilateral relations after they followed a period of difficulties, Tang said.

The Chinese government has attached great importance to the Sino-US relations and has always believed that it is in the fundamental interest of the two peoples to develop a constructive China-US relationship, Tang added.

He stressed that China hopes the United States will strictly observe the three Sino-US joint communiqu?s and handle their existing differences properly, so as to ensure a sound and stable development of the bilateral relations.

Tang said the forthcoming summit between Chinese President Jiang Zemin and his US counterpart George Bush during the APEC meetings, scheduled for October this year in Shanghai, will have a vital significance to the Sino-US ties in the new century.

China is willing to work hard with the US side to make joint efforts to prepare for the summit meeting and President Bush's visit to China, Tang said.

Powell said the US side believed that the Sino-US relations are very important. China is deepening its reform and open-up, and it will play a greater role in the global economy after China's accession to the World Trade Organization, he added.

He stressed that the United States dose not regard China as an enemy, and the United States needs to develop friendly ties with China.

Both sides can seek proper solutions to their differences in a frank and candid way, he said.

The US side noted that Chinese leaders have underlined the importance of peace and development, he said, adding the United States and China are facing common tasks of safeguarding peace and promoting development.

He said the US side is willing to strengthen its cooperation with China in making concerted efforts to create a peaceful international environment.

(Xinhua News Agency 07/26/2001)