US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte on Thursday morning
stressed clearly that Taiwan's "referendum for UN membership" is a
mistake and such "referendum" is a provocative policy of the Taiwan
authorities.
He made the remarks at a press conference at the US embassy to
China in Beijing. "The United States thinks it certainly would have
been preferable not to have such a 'referendum.'"
Negroponte said such a statement had been made by US Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice last month and he was reiterating
this.
He said the United States understood the Taiwan question is a
core interest to and a core concern of China. "It's not something
where one can talk about trade-off with other issues."
He said the United States continued to advocate neither side
across the Taiwan Straits take unilateral steps to alter the status
quo and encouraged both sides to deal with the issue by peaceful
means.
Negroponte reaffirmed the United State's commitment to the three
joint US-China communiques. He said they were the basis for US
policy toward China as well as the Taiwan Relation Act.
Negroponte arrived on Wednesday for the fifth US-China Strategic
Dialogue on Thursday and Friday with Vice Foreign Minister Dai
Bingguo. He met with Premier Wen Jiabao and Foreign Minister Yang
Jiechi, respectively, on Wednesday.
On Thursday afternoon, Negroponte went to the southwestern
Guizhou Province to attend the US-China Strategic Dialogue together
with Dai.
Negroponte said he was glad to be invited to the province, the
home of Dai, to appreciate other parts of China apart from
Beijing.
He expected to exchange views with Dai on wide-ranging topics,
including the Korean Peninsula situation, the situation of the
Taiwan Straits, the Darfur issue and the Iran nuclear issue. He
would also talk about human rights issues.
Both the United States and China are permanent members of the
United Nations Security Council and active participants on the
international stage. The United States hopes to ensure that both
sides fairly understand each other's approaches on issues
confronted by the world today and hopes to try to harmonize and
work out common understanding and approaches, Negroponte said.
The United States and China are partners in the international
system. The international system will benefit if the two work
together, said Negroponte, giving examples of US-China cooperation
in the six-party talks process and on the Sudan Darfur issue.
When asked to comment on the current progress of six-party
talks, he said the dismantlement of the nuclear facilities in
Yongbyon of North Korea, is an important development in the
process.
"We have experienced already in the six-party talks where agreed
measures were not implemented exactly on the timetable that had
been stipulated. But they were, in the end, carried out, such as
the Banco Delta Asia situation," he said, adding "we are going to
keep working at it with the expectation that the talks will bear
fruit and be successful."
On China's military transparency, Negroponte said it is very
important, particularly between two countries that have as large
and important capabilities as the United States and China.
It is important for "the conduct of relations" and "to avoid
misunderstanding", he noted.
"Slowly but truly, various channels are being developed" at the
military level, and between the two departments of defense of the
countries, and through diplomatic channels. He stressed there will
be representatives from the defense departments of the two
countries to attend the dialogue in Guizhou.
When asked whether the United States worries that China is not a
"free and fair" trader since it has huge trade deficit, he
acknowledged the deficit is substantial. He also said the United
States is "encouraged" by the growth of US exports to China in
recent years, over 20 percent sometimes.
He said China has the potential to become a promising country
for US exports since the increase of domestic consumption, the
development of the domestic economy and the lowering of savings
rates in China could bring new opportunities for US exports.
(Xinhua News Agency January 18, 2008)
