Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu confirmed in Beijing on Thursday at a regular press conference that the Chinese and US presidents will meet on the sidelines of the G-8 Summit.

 

"The heads of state will exchange views on Sino-US relations and major international and regional issues of common concern," Jiang added.

 

Chinese President Hu Jintao will attend the outreach session of the G-8 Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia from July 16 to 17. The session will discuss energy security, prevention and control of epidemic diseases, education, African development and other topics.

 

On the sidelines of the summit, Hu will hold a trilateral meeting with leaders from Russia and India as well as a group meeting with leaders from India, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico and the Republic of Congo.

 

However, China ruled out a possible meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

 

"We are busy arranging a series of bilateral meetings, but up to now a China-Japan meeting is not included in the arrangement," said Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai at a news briefing on Wednesday.

 

"There exist severe difficulties in China-Japan relations. I think we all know clearly the obstacles and crux of the difficulties," Cui said.

 

Sino-Japanese relations have been soured by Koizumi's repeated visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, where Japan's war dead, including 14 convicted Class-A World War II criminals, are honored.

 

The leaders of the two countries halted visits following Koizumi's homage at the war shrine soon after he took office in 2001.

 

Asked about the cooperation between China and the G8, Jiang said China will enhance cooperation with the industrialized nations, which have played roles in international affairs.

 

China will continue to increase dialogue and cooperation with the G8 on the basis of equality and mutual benefits, Jiang added.

 

China hoped that the summit could meet the concerns of all parties, particularly the concerns of the developing countries.

 

As for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) missile tests, China called on all parties to positively contribute to a resolution of the tensions caused by DPRK missile tests, rather than intensify the crisis.

 

"China supports a prudent and proper reaction from the UN Security Council in a bid to prevent an escalation of tensions and create conditions to resolve the issue through diplomatic efforts," Jiang said.

 

In a related development, China and Russia introduced a draft UN Security Council resolution Wednesday, calling for the early resumption of the six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

 

Unlike the Japanese draft, the joint Chinese-Russian proposal does not make sanctions mandatory and does not invoke Chapter Seven of the UN charter, which can authorize sanctions or even military action.

 

Jiang said the draft demonstrated that China and Russia, two permanent members of the UNSC, were taking steps to ease the tension.

 

China always held that UN action should be conducive to maintaining the peace and stability of the northeast Asia, promote the resumption of the six-party talks and enhance solidarity in the Security Council, she said.

 

"We are opposed to the Japanese draft which cannot help to realize these goals," she said.

 

Japan formally presented a draft resolution on Friday, seeking sanctions against the DPRK.

 

Jiang said China had been making positive efforts to ease tensions. Vice Premier Hui Liangyu led a delegation on an ongoing official goodwill visit to the DPRK.

 

Wu Dawei, vice foreign minister and China's chief negotiator to the six-party talks, accompanied Hui on the visit. He met with his DPRK counterpart Kim Kye-gwan and other officials, and they exchanged views on the situation, she said.

 

"We believe that one or two visits are not enough and the efforts of China alone are not enough. All parties concerned should make efforts," Jiang said.

 

Turning to Iran's nuclear issue, China urged Iran to respond to a package of incentives to stop enriching uranium as soon as possible, as the six nations agreed to return Iran's nuclear issue to the UN Security Council.

 

"China hopes Iran will take constructive attitudes and make positive response as soon as possible," Jiang said.

 

"Solving the issue through diplomatic negotiations complies with the interests of the international community," said Jiang, calling on parties related to make more diplomatic efforts in the nuclear disputes and create conditions for earlier resumption of talks.

 

On June 6, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana presented Tehran with a proposal package, backed by the five permanent UN Security Council members -- China, France, Great Britain, Russia and the US -- plus Germany.

 

The proposal includes both incentives and penalties aimed at persuading Iran to suspend uranium enrichment.

 

Jiang said the package "demonstrates the important efforts made by the parties concerned in a bid to restart negotiations on Iran nuclear issue."

 

Iran refused again on Tuesday to commit itself to the suspension of uranium enrichment. Iran said it would respond to the package by August 22.

 

The foreign ministers from the six countries met on Wednesday in Paris and agreed to return Iran nuclear issue to the UN Security Council.

 

"We have no choice but to return to the UN Security Council and take forward the process that was suspended two months ago," French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said.

 

"We have agreed to seek a UN Security Council resolution, which would make the IAEA-required suspension mandatory," Douste-Blazy said.

 

In another development, Jiang hailed the Good-Neighborly Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between China and Russia on its fifth anniversary, pledging to further develop the strategic partnership of cooperation.

 

"It's a milestone in bilateral ties, a great event on the international scene at the beginning of the 21st century, and serves as an example of state-to-state relations in the new era," Jiang said.

 

The then Chinese President Jiang Zemin and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin signed the treaty in Moscow on July 16, 2001.

 

The 25-article treaty stresses a new type of state-to-state relationship, which is not an alliance or a confrontation, and is not targeted at any third party.

 

The treaty adds legal weight to the concept that China and Russia should be friends from generation to generation and should never turn against each other, according to Jiang.

 

China and Russia approved another document to implement the treaty in 2004, which presented the principles and directions of the cooperation in all fields from 2005 to 2008.

 

"In the last five years, Sino-Russian ties have enjoyed energetic development," Jiang said.

 

She noted that the two countries have frequent exchanges of high-level visits, which has enhanced mutual trust.

 

China and Russia have also settled all border issues, deepened substantial cooperation in all fields and maintained close contact on international and regional issues, she acknowledged.

 

"The Sino-Russian relations have reached an unprecedented high, yielded great benefit for the two peoples and played an important role in preserving regional and world peace and stability," she said.

 

In other announcements, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy will pay an official visit to China from July 20-21 as the guest of Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing.

 

(Xinhua News Agency July 14, 2006)