China Thursday is pressing for all countries involved in the
six-party talks to overcome obstacles preventing them from moving
forward with the February 13 agreement.
Should it abide by this agreement, North Korea would shut down
its Yongbyon nuclear facility.
Qin Gang expressed China's hope that Pyongyang would shut down
the facility by the mid-April deadline, a move that would be
beneficial to all involved.
Qin noted China, including the government of the Macao Special
Administrative Region, will continue active discussion with all
parties on resolving any obstacles to the six-party talks
process.
"We hope that all the parties will show flexibility and work
hard to find common ground and broker a solution," he said.
US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack, too, expressed
confidence in Pyongyang's commitment to the February accord despite
the delay in the transfer of North Korea's US$ 25 million from
Banco Delta Asia to Bank of China in Beijing. Things are still on
track and there is certainly good faith on all sides, he said.
The sixth round of the six-party talks, which
started on March 19, came to a recess on March 22. This was due to
the North Korean delegation installing a boycott until the frozen
funds are wholly transferred out of Macao's Banco Delta Asia.
The final call came from a chairman's statement issued on March
22 which said the parties would resume the talks as soon as
possible.
Turning to Chinese navy chief Wu Shengli's ongoing eight-day
trip to the US, Qin Gang said this journey would help lift
pragmatic cooperation and promote mutual understanding and trust
between the two navies.
After being invited by US chief of naval operations Admiral
Michael Mullen, Wu is on a visit to the United States lasting from
April 1 to 8.
Qin said Wu had just ended a trip to Hawaii and Washington
during which he had met with high-ranking officials, such as Deputy
Defense Secretary Gordon R. England, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff Peter Pace and US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral
Michael Mullen.
These meetings allowed Wu to enjoy candid and thorough exchanges
with the US officers, with the two sides finding much to agree
upon, Qin said.
Prior to returning to Beijing on Sunday, Wu's tour will take him
to some US navy bases and academies.
Admiral Michael Mullen briefed Wu on the US' desire to see China
join international maritime security efforts, according to reports.
China would thus take part in the? "1,000-ship navy" concept,
an international network of navies, shipping industries and law
enforcement agencies which would pool their resources to form a
rapid response team to tackle emergencies at sea.
Also on Thursday, Qin announced that Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee
of the National People's Congress (NPC), would attend the annual
conference of the Bo'ao Forum for Asia (BFA) from April 20 to
22.
Wu will be a keynote speaker at the conference, also meeting
with assembled leaders.
The BFA first started in 2001, aiming to bring prosperity to Asia.
Its annual conference convenes government officials, business
leaders and academics whose remits all help shape the
continent.
Qin also announced that Sun Bigan, China's special envoy on
Middle East issues, will tour Saudi Arabia, Palestine and Israel
from April 9 to 18, before moving on to the European Union.
Sun will be exchanging views with parties relevant to the
Middle-East peace process, focusing on Israel and Palestine.
At the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, Foreign Minister of the United
Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan will pay an
official visit to China from April 8 to 15.
(Xinhua News Agency, China Daily April 6, 2007)
