Former speaker of the US House of Representatives Dennis Hastert
on Wednesday ended his five-day China tour, calling for further
inter-parliamentary exchanges between the US and China.
Systematic exchanges and dialogues between the US Congress and
China's National People's Congress (NPC) had allowed
representatives from the two countries to build friendship and
trust, said Hastert during a meeting with Sheng Huaren, vice
chairman of the NPC Standing Committee.
Despite different views on US policy, most US representatives
supported the development of US-China relations and wanted to
enhance energy and trade cooperation with China, Hastert said.
The US-China relationship was one of the most important
international relationships and the US government emphasized
development of bilateral ties, Hastert told Sheng.
Echoing Hastert's remarks, Sheng cited parliamentary exchanges
as a crucial part of the China-US relations.
In 1999, Hastert helped form the US-China Inter-parliamentary
Exchange Group, one of only four official inter-parliamentary
exchange groups with other countries.
As a reciprocal gesture, the NPC set up the Sino-US
Inter-parliamentary Exchange Group in December 1999.
"The China-US inter-parliamentary exchange mechanism has served
as a key platform for the NPC and the US Congress to deepen mutual
trust, expand common ground and cooperation," Sheng said.
Sheng also briefed Hastert on the latest situation across the
Taiwan Strait, expressing appreciation for the adherence of the US
administration to the one-China policy, observance to the three
Sino-US joint communiques, and its opposition to "Taiwan
Independence."
"We hope the US government could express opposition more
clearly, publicly and constantly to the 'de jure independence'
attempt by the Taiwan authorities and their attempt to seek
membership in the UN in any form, including its so-called
referendum on UN membership," Sheng said.
China hoped that the US Congress would do more to help improve
the relations across the Taiwan Strait and China's peaceful
reunification, without sending wrong signals to the "Taiwan
Independence" separatists, said Sheng.
Hastert said the US government and Congress would adhere to the
one-China policy and oppose any unilateral actions aimed at
changing the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.
Links between the peoples across the Taiwan Strait were
increasingly close, and it was hard to imagine that anyone could
separate the two sides, Hastert said.
Hastert expressed appreciation for China's important role in
resolving regional issues, emphasizing cooperation on safeguarding
regional and global security in order to deal with
non-proliferation and energy security problems.
During his five-day stay in China, Hastert also met with Foreign
Minister Yang Jiechi, executive vice president of the Organizing
Committee for the Beijing Olympic Games Liu Jingmin and vice
director of the Office of the National Energy Leading Group Xu
Dingming.
The two sides also exchanged views on energy, environmental
protection, climate change and the Beijing Olympics, vowing to
cooperate and seek solutions to pollution and global climate
change.
Hastert and his delegation, invited by NPC Standing Committee,
visited Shanghai before they arrived in Beijing.
(Xinhua News Agency August 16, 2007)
