China welcomes the upcoming talks between the US and North Korea
on normalization of bilateral relations, the Foreign Ministry said
yesterday.
Calling the talks a "very important" initial step toward
implementation of the statement reached on September 19, 2005,
ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a regular news briefing that he
expects a positive outcome.
The US and North Korean officials are scheduled to hold working
group talks from March 5 to 6 in New York, following a landmark
agreement in the last round of six-party talks in which the two sides agreed
to begin talks on normalizing relations after decades of
hostility.
"We hope relevant parties will make joint efforts for a
favorable start toward the goal of the denuclearization of the
Korean Peninsula and the permanent peace and stability there," Qin
said.
China continues consultations with all the other parties and is
handling details of the working group on the denuclearization under
the joint document inked last month, Qin said.
The six parties agreed to hold the sixth round of talks on March
19.
In response to a question concerning the visit of a delegation
from Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to the Chinese
National Museum on Anti-Japanese War in Beijing yesterday morning,
Qin reiterated that the proper handling of historical issue is the
"key" factor for a healthy and stable development of China-Japan
relations.
Qin said the two countries reached an agreement during Japanese
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ice-breaking China trip last October,
which clears obstacles to bilateral ties and promotes healthy
development of relations.
Since then, leaders of the two countries have met several times,
and Premier Wen Jiabao is scheduled to visit Japan this
April.
China-Japan ties are back on track toward sound development, Qin
said, adding, "We are ready to work with Japanese personages who
treasure China-Japan relations, and make joint efforts to promote
this relationship in a healthy and stable manner."
When asked about recent criticism that China's defense
expenditure is opaque, Qin replied, "What's your response if your
neighbor keeps peeking into your house through a crack in the door
and yelling 'Open the door, let's see what's inside'? Will you call
the police?"
He refuted the so-called "China threat" theory, saying anyone
who can understand and recognize China's foreign policy would
"never regard China as a threat."
He reiterated that China has always adhered to a policy of
peaceful development, never seeking hegemony, pursuing power
politics, or interfering in other countries' internal affairs.
"China advocates a harmonious society of lasting peace and
common prosperity. That's what has allowed China to win trust,
cooperation, and friends in the world," he added.
He said China advocates multilateralism and international
cooperation, holding that international disputes should be solved
through peaceful negotiation, avoiding recourse to arms wherever
possible.
The purpose of China maintaining a certain amount of defense
power is to protect the country's sovereignty and territorial
integrity, not for overseas expansion, Qin noted.
China's defense expenditure is low compared with some other
countries, particularly major powers. According to the White
Paper on China's National Defense issued in December 2006,
China's military expenditure in 2005 was 247 billion yuan (US$31.9
billion), 67 percent of the Japanese figure but only 6 percent of
the American figure.
Commenting on the current situation of the Iranian nuclear issue, Qin said China hopes
Iran positively addresses the communal concerns of the
international community and the UN Security Council Resolution
1737.
He said the international community should maintain calm and
patience in the process of resuming negotiations through diplomatic
efforts, including efforts outside the UN Security Council.
China is ready to work with other concerned parties to find a
proper and peaceful solution to this issue, he noted.
The Security Council voted unanimously in December to impose
mild sanctions against Tehran for its nuclear defiance. It gave
Iran two months to suspend uranium enrichment and return to the
negotiating table.
The IAEA announced last week that Tehran had failed to meet the
deadline.
The five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany met
in London on Monday regarding further moves necessary to ensure
Iran complies with demands to end its nuclear program.
In another development, Qin said that the Chinese government is
working on effective measures to protect migrant workers' legal
rights.
"Migrant workers have made and continue to make a great
contribution to China's economic growth and construction, and the
Chinese government at all levels and Chinese people have high
respect for their labor," he noted.
China's urbanization and industrialization process has seen an
estimated 200 million migrant workers flow into cities looking for
jobs, according to Qin.
Amnesty International yesterday released a report, saying
China's migrant workers are becoming an "urban underclass," unable
to get proper health care, often living in cramped conditions and
having few labor rights.
"China's so-called economic miracle comes at a terrible human
cost," the report said.
"Amnesty's claim is biased and groundless," Qin said, noting
that China's economic achievements can be attributed to a sensible
path of development, the country's reforms, and Chinese people's
hard work and wisdom.
Acknowledging that workers' rights had been abused "in some
places and sectors in China," Qin said the government is working to
eradicate abuses.
The Chinese government publicly admits that migrant workers face
problems and has initiated a number of measures to improve their
working and living conditions.
Employers will be forced this year to put money into a special
fund to ensure migrant workers are paid their wages, and a
nationwide network of lawyers will be set up to give them free
legal advice.
Qin said US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, on his
March 3-5 China tour, will meet with some senior Chinese officials
to discuss bilateral ties and important regional and international
issues.
He said State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan, Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, Deputy Foreign Minister Dai
Bingguo and Vice Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi will meet or hold
talks with Negroponte, respectively.
Also according to Qin, Abdul'ahat Abdulrixit, vice chairman of
the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political
Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top advisory body, will visit
Ghana from March 6 to 7 as President Hu Jintao's special envoy.
He will attend a commemorative event marking the 50th founding
anniversary of the Republic of Ghana, Qin said.
(Xinhua News Agency March 2, 2007)
