Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said at Tuesday's regular press conference that the agreement made by Chinese, Vietnamese and Philippine oil companies to conduct a joint marine seismic survey of oil potential in certain areas of the South China Sea is "a historic contribution to peace, stability and development in the region."

He said the agreement was viewed as an important move in following the principles set out in the 2002 ASEAN-China Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.

The China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), Philippine National Oil Company and Vietnam Oil and Gas Corporation signed the Tripartite Agreement for the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking in the Agreement Area in the South China Sea in Manila on Monday.

Liu said China has been discussing practical cooperation in the South China Sea with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries in recent years and working to turn the South China Sea into a friendly and cooperative bridge.

China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia have all made claims to the area around the Nansha (Spratly) Islands. In 2002, China and the 10-member ASEAN adopted the nonbinding declaration on conduct to prevent territorial disputes from escalating.

Commenting on the rising tension between Indonesia and Malaysia, Liu said China hopes the two countries can resolve their dispute through consultations and talks.

Indonesia and Malaysia came close to blows earlier this month when Kuala Lumpur awarded an oil concession in a disputed maritime area. Both countries dispatched warships to the region but have since agreed to hold talks.

Liu also said that China welcomes any improvement in India-Pakistan ties.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf is currently visiting India to watch one of the India-Pakistan cricket matches, at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

In response to the Dalai Lama's recent statement in an interview admitting that Tibet is a part of China, Liu said the central government's attitude towards the Dalai Lama is consistent and clear-cut: that is, it listens to his words while watching his actions.

"The Dalai Lama should genuinely renounce the 'Tibetan independence' stance, stop all kinds of separatist activities, openly declare and acknowledge that both Tibet and Taiwan are inseparable parts of China and that the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole China," he said.

According to the spokesman, Premier Pak Bong-ju of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will pay an official goodwill visit to China next week.

The premier will arrive next Tuesday, a day after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice leaves Beijing following meetings with Chinese leaders. Those meetings are expected to focus on the Korean Peninsula issue.

Liu did not give details about whom the premier would meet or what would be discussed, although he did confirm that the nuclear issue would be addressed.

Turning to the newly adopted Anti-Secession Law, Liu said the United States "doesn't fully understand its significance."

"We reiterate that this law is a law for peace," he said. "It's conducive to opposing and checking Taiwan secessionists, maintaining the stable development of cross-Straits relations as well as the growth of relations between China, Europe, the United States and other countries, and safeguarding stability and prosperity in the Taiwan Straits and the whole Asia and Pacific region."

"If they realize that, they will not have other opinions on such a law," he added.

Washington on Monday said the law "does not serve the cause of peace and stability" in the region.

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said the law "runs counter to recent progress in cross-Straits relations."

US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said it "only serves to harden positions."

Liu also stressed that China can understand that some foreign countries are concerned about the Taiwan question, but this cannot change the fact that this issue is China's internal affair.

Turning to the environment, Liu said that China greatly values the protection of endangered species and has banned ivory trading.

"China joined the CITES in 1981 and has strictly complied with the regulations," he said. "China's efforts in wildlife protection have been widely recognized by the international community."

John Seller, the CITES senior enforcement officer, led a three-member investigation group to China on March 7, during which he checked the ivory processing and product trade in major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Guangzhou.

In China, ivory carving was once a fine art, along with the carving arts of jade, stone, wood and bamboo. But the country banned the trade of ivory in 1991 pursuant to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

In 1997, CITES conditionally loosened the regulation on ivory trade, after which many businesses targeted China as a destination for the trade.

In May 2004, China began requiring all markets mark the ivory products with a unified icon to control the flow of the products. It set up a database on all ivory products to ensure no illegal ivory enters the market.

Liu announced that at the invitation of President Hu Jintao, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo Josef Kabila will pay a working visit from March 20 to 23.

(China Daily, CRI.com, Xinhua News Agency March 16, 2005)