Chinese, US presidents talk over phone
2005-05-06 Xinhuanet
Chinese President Hu Jintao and US President George W. Bush had a phone conversation Thursday evening, according to sources with Chinese Foreign Ministry. On the recent exchanges across the Taiwan Straits, Hu stressed that the proper handling of the Taiwan issue remains the key to the healthy growth of China-US relations. China hopes the US side to adopt a constructive attitude in support of the improvement and development of relations across the Taiwan Straits and supports the cross-Straits situation to march toward peace and stability, Hu said. Bush reiterated that the US government adheres to the one-China policy, emphasizing that the stance remains unchanged. Since the beginning of this year, the Chinese president said, "We have adopted a series of important measures to improve relations and promote exchanges across the Taiwan Straits." All these moves have "won the consent of 1.3 billion Chinese people, including Taiwan compatriots, and are widely acclaimed by the international community," Hu said. Hu said that "We will continue to promote the improvement and development of cross-Straits relations and actively push forward the process of peaceful reunification of the motherland." On bilateral ties, Bush said the United States places importance to its relations with China. He made positive comments on the maintenance of high-level contacts between the United States and China, saying that every US-China summit was fruitful. Bush also said the US side attaches importance to the continuous enhancement of trade and economic relations between the two countries. Hu said that Sino-US relations maintain steady growth in general and such a momentum conforms to the fundamental interests of the two countries and two peoples and is conducive to the peace, stability and development in the Asia Pacific region and the world at large. He is ready to make concerted efforts with President Bush for the healthy progress of Sino-US relations. Hu said trade and economic cooperation between China and the United States have brought substantial benefits to the people of the two countries. As the scale of Sino-US trade and economic cooperation expanded, the occurrence of certain frictions was inevitable, Hu said. Noting that the problems were caused by various reasons, Hu said the two sides should resolve them in gradual paces and on the basis of equality and mutual benefit. Hu hoped the 16th meeting of Sino-US Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) to be held in Beijing soon would achieve positive results in addressing the common concern of the two sides. Hu and Bush also exchanged views on regional situation and other issues of mutual interests.

EU envoy working to lift China arm's ban
2005-05-05 China Daily
The European Union's newly appointed ambassador to China said he believes the EU will continue to work toward ending its arms embargo against China. When China and the EU launched a series of activities for marking the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations early this year, ambassador Serge Abou told China Daily that the EU had the political willingness on lifting the ban but no timetable yet exists. Premier Wen Jiabao has described the embargo as "discriminatory" and said when he attended the Seventh China-EU Summit last December that its abolition will open the way for a strategic partnership to help Europe and China create a more stable political environment. The EU passed a resolution at the summit, requesting that Luxembourg - holder of the EU's rotating presidency - make preparations for lifting the ban in the first half of this year. However, it is uncertain whether EU members can reach a consensus on the move before the end of June. China has repeatedly expressed hopes the EU will take the overall situation into account and lift the ban as soon as possible. The EU will endorse a binding code of conduct on arms sales, which is stricter and covers all third parties, the ambassador said. "It is a complex issue," Abou said. "Any decision on this matter should not result in an increase of arms exports from EU member states to China either in quantity or in quality." The EU side has noted that China has formally stated several times that it has no intention nor resources to buy more arms from Europe, he said. Since the EU is still discussing the issue, while bilateral co-operation in other areas looms in the background. According to the ambassador, the EU and China are now working on a new framework agreement. "It aims to formalize our joint interests and commitments across the board and will allow us to achieve even greater delivery of tangible results in the future," he said. The past 30 years have seen an extraordinary transformation both for China and the EU, Abou said. "It is imperative for the two great powers to work together not only to develop bilateral ties but also to join forces to preserve and develop the global public good," he said. The ambassador said that the great potential of bilateral co-operation in the future cannot be underestimated. "As Chairman Mao said, we have to know where we are coming from, where we stand and where we are going." ( )

Solana: It's time to end China arms embargo
2005-05-06 China Daily
WASHINGTON - The European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, pleaded the case for lifting an arms embargo against China, a move strongly opposed by the United States. Solana told a press briefing the lifting of the embargo was an essential step to building trust with China. "I think it's a good idea," Solana said of the EU proposal to lift the ban, "it should have been done a long time ago. Australia lifted the embargo in 1992." Solana has held talks in Washington with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other top US officials. The US administration has spoken out strongly against resuming arms sales to China, even though the EU has said it will impose a code of conduct that would restrict any deals. "What is important is to have a sentiment of trust, of confidence, and nobody in the European Union wants to put American soldiers in difficulty," said Solana of the dispute with Washington. Despite the disagreement, Solana said that the European Union and United States had "decided to deepen the strategic dialogue we have between the EU and the US on Asia."

China appeals for progress in promoting NPT goals
2005-05-05 PLA Daily
The three goals of Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) must be promoted in a comprehensive and balance manner, said Zhang Yan, Head of the Chinese Delegation to 2005 Review Conference of the Parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), on Tuesday. "In light of the latest developments, challenges and problems in international security, it is urgent for the international community to take more pragmatic and concrete steps to preserve and strengthen the universality, effectiveness and authority of the NPT," Zhang said in the general debate at the 2005 NPT Review Conference at the UN headquarters in New York. "To achieve this, the three goals of NPT, namely nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation and peaceful uses of nuclear energy, must be promoted in a comprehensive and balance manner," he stressed, adding that the three goals are interlinked and inseparable. Zhang stressed that this conference is expected to make progress in promoting the three goals of the Treaty. "China has always advocated that all nuclear-weapon states should explicitly commit themselves to destroying nuclear weapons in a complete and thorough manner; lowering the role of nuclear weapons in national security policy," he said. Meanwhile, he pointed out that China opposes proliferation of nuclear weapons in any form, calls upon all those outside the NPT to join as non-nuclear-weapon states, and is in favor of continued efforts to enhance and improve the existing nuclear non-proliferation regime in accordance with new developments. Zhang said the aims of nuclear non-proliferation must be achieved through an integrated approach addressing both the symptoms and root causes. According to him, the international community should create favorable international and regional security conditions conducive to non-proliferation, solve the prominent nuclear proliferation and other related issues through political and diplomatic means within the current international legal framework, and strengthen and improve the existing non-proliferation regime in light of the overall non-proliferation situation and the global economic, scientific and technological developments. "The relation between non-proliferation and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy should be put in correct perspective and properly dealt with," Zhang said. "The rights of non-nuclear-weapon states to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, under the IAEA safeguards shall be respected and preserved." Zhang stressed that China, as a State Party to the NPT, has always faithfully observed its obligations and committed to the three objectives of the treaty, and preserving and strengthening its universality, effectiveness and authority.

Chinese president's Moscow tour to boost Russia-China strategic partnership: Russian official
2005-05-05 Xinhuanet
Chinese President Hu Jintao's Moscow tour for the May 9 celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II will give a fresh boost to the strategic partnership between Russia and China, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alekseyev said Wednesday. The Russian government thinks highly of President Hu's decision to attend the celebrations on May 9, Alekseyev told Xinhua in an exclusive interview. The peoples of Russia and China contributed considerably to defeating Nazism and militarism, he said. The celebrations on May 9 in Moscow will gather a host of world leaders that also include US President George W. Bush, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and French President Jacques Chirac. Celebrating victory of the war is significant in that it reminds people the world over of a shared mission to safeguard peace and prevent a repeat of such tragedies, Alekseyev noted. Russia hopes the international community works together in responding to new threats since a multilateral mechanism ensuring global stability and security can only be established by a united world community, Alekseyev said. The deputy foreign minister called on countries to remember the lessons of World War II and be united in fighting such new threats as terrorism.

Chinese FM arrives in Japan for Asia-Europe forum
2005-05-06 Xinhuanet
Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing arrived here Thursday evening for the seventh Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Foreign Ministers' Meeting (ASEM FMM 7) due to open here on Friday. On the sidelines of the ASEM FMM 7, the Chinese foreign minister will also attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plus China, Japan and South Korea (10+3) foreign ministers' meeting on Friday and chair the third meeting of the Tripartite Commission of China, Japan and South Korea on Saturday. Under the theme of deepening Asia-Europe dialogue to face global challenges, the foreign ministers or their representatives of Asian and European countries will discuss multilateralism, sustainable development, cultural diversity and future of the ASEM and other issues. Focus will also be on Asian consultations about a planned East Asia Summit and fence-mending efforts between Japan and China, as well as Japan and South Korea, through a series of talks planned on the sidelines of full sessions of the Asia-Europe Meeting. The two-day meeting is also making preparations for the Sixth ASEM Summit Meeting to be held in Finland in 2006. ( )

People's Daily to run commentator's article on laborers' rights
2005-05-06 Xinhuanet
The People's Daily, China's leading national newspaper and the official mouthpiece of the Communist Party of China (CPC), will publish a commentator's article on Friday, calling for "executing, safeguarding and developing the rights and interests of the working people." Titled "Earnestly support the rights and interests of the working people," the article says a good execution of rights and interests of working people was an important request put forward by Hu Jintao, China's President, at a recent national conference to honor model workers in Beijing. "In the process of reform, opening-up and modernization, it is necessary to well execute, safeguard and develop in earnest manner the rights and interests of the working people in aspects of economy, politics and culture," the article says. "Efforts should be made not only to guarantee democratic rights of the working people, ensuring them to exercise the right stipulated as the master of the state, but also to keep improving their living standard and quality of life by means of economic progress so they can enjoy the fruit of reform and development," the article says. "In the meantime, it is of equal importance to build and improve a coordination mechanism for labor relations and to build and improve the social security system," it says. "On one hand, we should strive to do a good job of caring for the people, their production and life, on the other hand, we should make efforts to educate and guide them in bearing the overall situation in mind and putting the general interest above all, and taking the initiative in making due contribution to reform, development and stability," it says. Reform and construction experiences fully show that reform, opening-up and modernization have attained a solid footing among the people following execution of the rights and interests of the working people in aspects of economy, politics and culture, said the article, adding that "in this way, the people will for sure to devote their hearts to the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics."

In one-China frame talks may cover any issue
2005-05-05 China Daily
The Chinese mainland is ready to talk about everything, even the "missile" issue, with Taiwan, but only under the one-China principle, a senior mainland official said yesterday. Wang Zaixi, deputy director of the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks at a news conference organized by the State Council Information Office in Beijing after Lien Chan, chairman of Taiwan's main opposition party Kuomintang (KMT), returned to Taiwan. The possibility of discussing the matter has been underscored by the press communique issued last week by the CPC and the KMT during Lien's visit. Wang said at the press conference that the mainland expects a greater consensus to be reached with James Soong, chairman of Taiwan's People First Party (PFP), when he visits the mainland. Wang said he hopes Soong's visit will help "reach more common ground promoting cross-Straits relations." Soong is scheduled to head a PFP delegation for a visit to the mainland starting tomorrow. "But the PFP is different to the KMT," Wang said. "I believe Mr Soong will demonstrate his own characteristics." He reiterated that the mainland is ready to contact and enter into dialogue with any political party in Taiwan that recognizes the "1992 consensus," opposes "Taiwan independence" and supports the development of cross-Straits relations. "For the time being, we have no party-to-party exchanges with the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for the key reason that its party constitution advocates 'Taiwan independence'," Wang said. "We can resume dialogue and consultations with Chen Shui-bian and the DPP on the condition that the DPP administration first endorse 1992 consensus that Taiwan and the mainland are 'one China' and drop the 'independence' clause from its constitution," Wang said. But he stressed that DPP members at middle and lower levels are welcome to visit the mainland in a proper capacity. "We have invited eight mayors from Taiwan to attend the Asian city mayors' summit to be held in Chongqing in southwestern China this year, including some who are DPP members," Wang said. To facilitate exchanges across the Straits, Wang said the mainland hopes to start direct cargo flights soon and promote direct passenger flights.

China "shocked" by Japanese FM's comments on Taiwan, says spokesman
2005-05-06 People's Daily - China expressed shock at Japanese Foreign Minister Machimura Nobutaka's recent comments on Taiwan, which Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said interfere in China's internal affairs. In a recent speech delivered in New York, Machimura talked about making Taiwan a common strategic target of Japan and the United States, saying it did not have any disagreement with Japan's Taiwan policy so far. He said this could not be taken as an expansion of Japan's defense line to Taiwan because Taiwan is an original target of the Japan-US security treaty. Kong said "China is shocked" by the comments, which he said "interfere in China's internal affairs." China has "made solemn representations and expressed strong protests" to the Japanese side, he said. "The Taiwan question is China's internal affair that concerns China's core interests, and anything that brings Taiwan directly or indirectly into Japan-US security cooperation and challenges China's core interests is dangerous," he said. "The Chinese government and people stand firmly opposed to and will not accept any such action," added Kong. Kong recalled the recent meeting between Chinese and Japanese leaders in Jakarta, Indonesia, during which both sides reached a series of consensuses on improving Sino-Japanese relations. He said Japan's recent comments deviated seriously not only from Japan's commitments on Taiwan, but also from the spirit of the meeting between leaders of the two countries. Kong said China "strongly urges" the Japanese government to "strictly observe and honor its commitments, and stop any action that interferes in China's internal affairs."

Beijing scholars speak highly of Lien Chan's mainland trip
2005-05-06 People's Daily - Mainland Taiwan experts spoke highly of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party Chairman Lien Chan's recent eight-day mainland trip. At the invitation of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Hu Jintao, CPC Central Committee general secretary, Lien Chan visited the mainland from April 26-May 3. Sun Shengliang, a researcher with the Taiwan Affairs Research Institute under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Lien's trip shows that "the two parties are standing at a new point for the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and depicts a route chart for benign development of the cross-Straits relations." Guo Zhenyuan, another mainland Taiwan expert, said Lien's mainland trip came as a result of changes on Taiwan over the past several months, and shows that cross-Straits relations have "entered a new phase." Lien's mainland trip "reflected the strong wish of Taiwan residents for improving cross-Straits relations and maintaining stability across the Taiwan Straits," Guo said. "Lien's successful mainland trip set an head-on example for Taiwan authorities and was also a great encouragement of public opinion in Taiwan," Sun said. Sun said the main achievements of Lien's mainland trip were that the CPC and KMT nailed down the political basis of the "1992 Consensus" which embodies one-China principle, and "based on this put forward the prospect of building a peaceful and stable political frame on both sides of the Taiwan Straits and for the development of cross-Straits economic cooperation."

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Bo upbeat over Sino-US trade
2005-05-06 China Daily
China is optimistic about Sino-US economic and trade relations despite friction between the two countries, a top official said. "Bilateral trade between China and the United States grew to some US$169.6 billion last year from US$2.5 billion 26 years ago, which shows that the two economies are complementary," said Bo Xilai, China's minister of commerce. The remarks were made on Monday when Bo met Robert Portman, the newly elected US trade representative. Portman echoed Bo by saying that the United States attaches great importance to bilateral trade and economic co-operation ranging from agriculture to services. As for the issue of textile trade between the two countries, Bo criticized the US investigation launched in April into three categories of textiles imported from China. The United States violated the basic principles of free trade as well as the regulations of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Bo said. The surge in China's textile exports came about through the removal of quotas from a market that has been distorted for decades, according to Bo. If safeguard measures were launched against China's textiles, it would hurt developing countries' confidence in the multilateral trade system, he said. The Chinese Government has adopted a series of measures, including imposing export tariffs, lowering the tax rebate rate, and issuing export permits to control textile exports. These moves have made great progress as textile export growth dropped sharply in March compared with the preceding month, according to Bo. ( )

EU urged to grant full market status
2005-05-05 China Daily
A senior trade official called on the European Union (EU) to grant China full market economy status at an early date to pave the way for better trade. "It will give relations important impetus," said Wang Shichun, director-general of the Bureau of Fair Trade for Import and Export (BOFT) under the Ministry of Commerce. Granting China the market economy status would represent an important embodiment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two sides and will benefit both, Wang said in an interview with China Daily. Non-discriminatory treatment in world trade will create more motivation for Chinese entrepreneurs to actively participate in international co-operation in the competitive European arena, which, he said, will encourage all China's trade partners, including the EU. ( ) Although the EU removed China from its non-market economy list in 1998, it continues to regard China as a market-transition economy. "Their failure to recognize market economy status is damaging normal trade," Wang said. According to government statistics, from 1979 to 2004, the EU has initiated 107 anti-dumping cases against China. Last year alone, the number of cases climbed by nine, a 200 per cent jump over the previous year. Analysts say the anti-dumping measures being adopted by the EU against China are not fair in terms of either policy or practice. About 70 per cent of China's economy is market-based, above the recognized minimum level of 60 per cent for a market economy. And two-thirds of China's gross domestic product growth is created by the non-State sector, according to a report on China's market economy released by Beijing Normal University. Currently, more than 95 per cent of China's commodities are subject to the market to generate prices, according to the ministry. The engine driving EU's relationship with China has been its growing trade and investment with China. What is more, economic flow looks set to grow in the future, said Ding Yuanhong, China's former ambassador to the EU. EU decision-makers are feeling double pressure on this issue, from both industries and member countries. Since tariff and non-tariff barriers are strictly restrained in international trade, many countries allege dumping as a form of protection that is allowed by the WTO. China is playing a positive role in the EU's development of foreign trade although some countries worry that granting China full market economy status may affect their own self-interests, Ding said. Meanwhile, China is trying to assure its partners and upgrade its own industry, Ding stressed, noting that China, as a growing player in global economic trade, should learn more national legislation and financial marketing skills that will enable it to work more efficiently in international economic competition. "We know how important the achievement of market economy status is for China, and we are working proactively with China to achieve that goal," said the EU's Ambassador to China Serge Abou. Calling such status is essentially a technical matter, Abou said a number of technical criteria have to be fulfilled. "We are glad to see that China is moving forward on these and other fronts and I am hopeful that we will start political contacts on this soon." China has adopted regulations on mergers and acquisitions and on price controls including the prohibition of abusive behaviour by dominant companies. ( ) An expert-level working group from both China and the EU concluded a new round of discussions on the issue in late April. The Chinese Government is currently drafting legislation on competition, including the prohibitions on abusive behaviour in the market by Chinese and foreign-dominant companies. ( ) Voices from the EU are also encouraging. On April 21-22, European Commission Director-General Philip Lowe, the highest-ranking European competition official, visited Beijing and discussed the issues with Vice-Minister of Commerce Ma Xiuhong in the EU-China competition policy dialogue. "In order to foster economic reforms, we are encouraged by the Chinese Government's efforts to set up a modern framework on competition policy" said Lowe. "The EU is willing to exchange views and share its experience with China."

High quality gas flow found in test well
2005-05-05 People's Daily A high quality gas flow has been drilled from a test well in Southwest China's Sichuan Province by the Southern Branch of the China National Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec), according to sources from the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) under the State Council. SASAC, supervisor of the country's key state-owned enterprises, said in a press release Tuesday that the Heba No. 1 Well obtained a daily natural gas flow of 296,000 cubic meters of high quality gas that does not contain sulfureted hydrogen. Experts held that this breakthrough demonstrates the huge potential of gas reserves in the Tongnanba formation, located in the center of the Daba Mountains. The Tongnanba formation has a surface area of more than 800 square kilometers, second only to the Weiyuan formation in the Sichuan Basin. The manager of Sinopec Southern Branch, Yang Fangzhi, said there should be no problem finding gas reserves of 150 billion cubic meters in the area by 2010.

ASEAN emerges as fourth largest trade partner of China
2005-05-05 Xinhuanet
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has turned out to be China's fourth largest trade partner with trade volume between the two sides topping 27.5 billion US dollars in the first quarter of this year, up 25 percent year-on-year. China and ASEAN have huge potential for cooperation due to the strong complementarity in resource and industry structures as well as in exports and imports, said Lu Kejian, deputy director of the Asia Department of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. In 2004, trade volume between China and ASEAN reached a record high of 105.9 billion US dollars, up 35 percent over the previous year, realizing the target of exceeding 100 billion US dollars one year ahead of the plan set by the two sides, the official said. Presently, the construction of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area has entered a substantial stage and more than 7,000 commodities will witness sharp reductions of tariff as of July 1 this year, the official said.

DPRK may have fired missile to Japan Sea: Report
2005-05-05 PLA Daily
Japan's Defense Agency said the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) might have launched a short-range missile into the Sea of Japan on Sunday morning, NHK reported. The missile likely had a range of about 100 kilometers, the broadcaster said. The agency and the US forces in Japan are confirming the incident, the report said.

White House says DPRK apparently test-fired missile
2005-05-05 PLA Daily
A senior White House official said Sunday that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) had apparently test-fired a short-range missile. "It appears that there was a test of a short-range missile by the North Koreans and it landed in the Sea of Japan. We're not surprised by this. The North Koreans have tested their missiles before. They've had some failures," White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card said in an interview with CNN's "Late Edition". "We have to work together with our allies around the world ...to demonstrate that North Korea's actions are inappropriate," he said. "We don't want them to have any nuclear weapons, we don't want the Korean peninsula to have any nuclear weapons on it," he added. Reports of the missile test came days after the director of the US Defense Intelligence Agency, Vice Admiral Lowell Jacoby, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the DPRK was believed to have the capability to arm a missile with a nuclear device, and one day before representatives of 189 nations meet at the United Nations to review the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Jacoby told lawmakers in his testimony last Thursday that the range of the DPRK's weapons could reach Alaska and Hawaii and a portion of northwest United States. Jacoby's remarks were played down later by defense officials, saying that US intelligence officials believed the DPRK was several years away from being able to mount a nuclear warhead on a missile that could reach the United States.

Rice: US has deterrent capability over DPRK
2005-05-06 PLA Daily
The United States on Monday boasted its deterrent capability over the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) after reports that the DPRK test-fired a short-range missile. "We have, after all, a very strong alliance with South Korea and a very strong alliance with Japan. And of course the United States maintains significant -- and I want to underline 'significant' -- deterrent capability of all kinds in the Asia-Pacific region," US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said after talks with French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier. "I don't think there should be any doubt about our ability to deter whatever the North Koreans are up to, but that does not mean that it is not a serious problem and that the North Koreans shouldn't come back to the six-party talks," Rice said. The test of DPRK's missiles "will at some point have to be a part of the discussions," Rice said. "It appears that there was a test of a short-range missile by the North Koreans and it landed in the Sea of Japan. We're not surprised by this. The North Koreans have tested their missiles before, " White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card said in an interview with CNN's "Late Edition."

S.Korea: Nuclear talks hard to resume
2005-05-06 Xinhuanet
South Korea's foreign minister says prospects for resuming stalled six-party talks over North Korea's nuclear weapons program are not good. However, Ban Ki-moon said the South Korean government is willing to resolve the nuclear crisis between the two countries peacefully. He urges North Korea to respond positively to the concerns of the international community. "North Korea should realise the current situation in which the six-party talks are not taking place cannot go on and should stop hanging onto unreasonable allegations. Once again I urge North Korea to respond to the international community's hopes that the talks are resumed earlier," said Ban Ki-moon. ( )

Susanne Schuetz
Embassy of Switzerland