Armitage arrives in Beijing for talks on North Korea, Iraq
2004-01.30 China Daily
Deputy US Secretary of State Richard Armitage arrived in China
for a visit that the US embassy said would focus on the year-long
North Korean nuclear crisis and Iraq reconstruction. Armitage,
who travelled from Japan, told reporters that the United States
was "extraordinarily grateful" to China for its efforts
to organize six-nation talks on the nuclear issue, and hoped
there would be a new round next month. "February is a possibility,"
he said in his Beijing hotel, adding later, "February is
great month." "The answer to this question lies in
Pyongyang, not here," he said. Armitage is due to hold
talks with Chinese foreign ministry officials Friday before
leaving for Mongolia early Saturday for the third and last leg
of his trip, a US embassy spokeswoman said. "They are going
to talk about bilateral issues covering a broad range of mutual
interests including North Korea and Iraq reconstruction,"
she said. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said
Thursday at a press conference that Chinese vice-foreign ministers
Dai Bingguo and Zhou Wenzhong will meet with Armitage and exchange
views on bilateral relations and issues of common concern. China
has been working closely with Washington to try to diffuse tensions
over the North Korean nuclear plans. China has been trying to
convene a second round of six-nation talks on a 15-month crisis
over North Korea's nuclear program, after a first round made
little headway in Beijing in August. The United States revealed
last week it had made a rare direct call to North Korea in a
bid to convene a second round of the six-party talks, which
were expected in December but never happened. North Korea offered
recently to freeze its nuclear weapons drive in return for concessions,
including an end to US sanctions and a resumption of energy
aid.
China urges EU to lift arms embargo
2004-01-29 Xinhua News
The European Union's (EU) arms embargo on China should be lifted,
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said here Thursday.
Zhang said the arms embargo was a product of the Cold War era,
which hampered cooperation between China and EU members. "We
have noticed that many EU members have adopted positive attitudes
towards the lifting of the arms embargo", she said, saying
China appreciated the efforts of certain EU members, including
France and Germany. She expressed the hope that the arms embargo
would be lifted as soon as possible. The EU is considering lifting
the ban on arms sales to China, the foreign ministers' meeting
of EU members and would-be members revealed Monday. The EU Council
had opened discussion on the issue and ministers have invited
the Permanent Representatives Committee and the Standing Political
and Security Committee to examine the issue. ( )The arms embargo
on China makes no more sense today, French President Jacques
Chirac said here Tuesday at a joint news conference with his
visiting Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao. He said France hopes
the restriction would be scrapped "in the coming months."
European Commission President Romano Prodi also called on the
European Union (EU) to study the possibility of lifting the
embargo. It's high time to reconsider the situation and eventually
lift the embargo, Prodi told French radio Europe 1, adding that
European rules mean that it will take time to start the discussion.Both
Javier Solana, EU high representative for common foreign and
security policy, and European Commissioners for external affairs
Christopher Patten were in favor of reviewing the embargo. "It
is quite clear the situation in China has changed dramatically
and the new leadership represents the next generation,"
said Patten at a press conference after the meeting. He noted
that China's human rights situation has improved since the EU
imposed the ban, though the EU is not fully satisfied with China's
human rights record.
China supports France in ITER project
2004-01-29 Xinhua News
China will support France as the site of the International Thermonuclear
Experimental Reactor (ITER)project, said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman
Zhang Qiyue here Thursday. After studying the two proposed sites
in France and Japan for the construction of an experimental
nuclear fusion reactor, China had decided to support France,
Zhang said. France had been competing with Japan as the site
of the multi-billion dollar project, but China hoped the issue
could be settled according to consultations among all parties,
she said. The project is the world's largest-yet nuclear fusion
power plant with technology touted as a solution to global energy
problems. Once completed in 2050, the ITER will generate clean,
safe and inexhaustible electricity. The ITER participants --
the European Union, the United States,Russia, Japan, the Republic
of Korea, Canada and China -- are divided into two groups. If
successful, the ITER is expected to be the world's first commercially
viable fusion reactor and could herald a global energy revolution.
China applies to join Nuclear Suppliers Group
2004-01-27Xinhua News
China filed a formal application Monday to join the Nuclear
Suppliers Group (NSG). China' permanent representative to the
United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna,
Zhang Yan, submitted the application to NSG rotating president
Cho Chang-beom. Zhang also delivered a note to Director-General
of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mohamed M. El Baradei,
informing him of China's intention for NSG membership. In an
interview with Xinhua, Zhang said China firmly opposes the proliferation
of weapons of mass destruction and their carriers. As a signatory
to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, China strictly abides
by its international obligations and has never supported, encouraged
nor helped any nation in developing nuclear weapons, the Chinese
ambassador said. In recent years, Zhang said, China has promulgated
and implemented a series of laws and regulations concerning
the control of nuclear materials and instituted strict administration
and control of nuclear exports. Joining the NSG is a key step
for China to play a more active role in nuclear non-proliferation,
a step conducive to its efforts in seeking closer international
cooperation in this regard, Zhang added.
Chirac warns Taiwan of referendum
2004-01-27 People's Daily
Chinese President Hu Jintao and French President Jacques Chirac
on Monday discussed bilateral relations and major international
issues of common concern and reached broad consensus. In their
first meeting after Hu's arrival in Paris, the two presidents
spoke highly of the 40 years of relations between China and
France since the two countries established full diplomatic ties.
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Comment: Chen has emerged as his own worst enemy
2004-01-19 China Daily
One cannot but observe with trepidation Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian's
call, on January 16, for a referendum regarding the island's
relations with the Chinese mainland. What he is attempting to
do is use the proposed referendum issues to bolster his chances
in his uphill battle in Taiwan's upcoming "presidential''
elections. In the first place, Chen points his finger to mainland
missiles that are meant, as proclaimed by the government of
the People's Republic, to deter any attempt for Taiwan independence.
At the same time he asks the public to support his periodic
efforts to place orders with overseas suppliers for the purchase
of military equipment. This is a blatant attempt to utilize
the United States, the islands' biggest arms supplier, as a
chessman in Chen's own game. Secondly, Chen asks the public
to allow him to work towards building a "framework of peace''
to cover both sides of the Taiwan Straits -- even though he
has never demonstrated sincerity in achieving that aim. This
is to imply the mainland is a threat to Taiwan's present state
of existence, and set it up as a target for scapegoating and
windmill fighting during his election campaign. Not long ago
in a statement of his would-be fight against the mainland, Chen
even went so far as to use the fanatic term "holy war.''
( )But Chen's somersaults cannot reach unlimited height. Chinese
mainland and the United States are co-operating on so many issues,
and their relationship is far more important than can be overshadowed
by his military purchases. After bearing witness to so many
of Chen's flip-flops, the United States sees increasingly clear
evidence about who is making trouble in the Taiwan Straits.
In the meantime, the mainland will continue to grow in political
and economic importance in the world. For Taiwan, there is nothing
Chen can do to replace its internal politics with Beijing-baiting.
He will achieve even less by disconnecting its myriad of peaceful
and mutually beneficial ties with the mainland.
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