China is permitting a search by the United States for the remains
of two pilots linked to the Cold War era, Chinese Foreign Ministry
said Tuesday.
"The Chinese side has agreed that the US side may, in the near
future, send personnel to China to inspect the area where US
military personnel presumably went missing during the Cold War
period," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao.
It
is reported that two US pilots went missing over Northeast China
during a spying mission about 50 years ago.
The Pentagon is preparing to send a search team to Northeast China
in hopes of recovering the remains of the two American pilots who
are believed to have been buried 50 years ago where their unmarked
plane crashed during a failed spy mission for the CIA, according to
reports from Associated Press.
The eight-member search team from the Army's Central Identification
Laboratory in Hawaii is scheduled to leave on July 15 and
investigate the crash site near the town of Antu in China's Jilin
Province, the press said.
China has for many years cooperated with the United States in
searches for missing US soldiers in the spirit of humanity and to
further promote friendly relations between the two countries, Liu
said.
The Chinese Government has cooperated with the United States on
several projects to recover the remains of World War II-era
military personnel lost in China. In 1999, a US-China team
recovered the remains of two US airmen whose B-24 bomber crashed
into a mountain in today's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in 1944
while returning from a mission.
China to continue supporting African Union
China will continue to support and strengthen cooperation with the
African Union (AU), with a view to establish a new partnership of
long-term stability, equality and mutual benefit with African
countries.
The Foreign Ministry spokesman said the 38th summit meeting of the
Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the first summit of the AU
had opened in Durban, South Africa, indicating that the AU, as a
regional organization, had began to carry out its duties.
Liu said the establishment of the AU, which replaces the OAU, was
an important step in uniting and reviving Africa in the face of
globalization and would have a far-reaching impact on the
development of Africa.
The Chinese government highly values the OAU's great contribution
to the independence, peace and development of Africa in the past 40
years, and supports African countries' joint efforts to promote
political and economic integration on the continent.
China calls for stability on Korean Peninsula
China hopes the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and
the Republic of Korea (ROK) work for stability and the easing of
tensions on the Korean Peninsula, Liu said.
Liu Jianchao said China has been dedicated to peace and stability
on the Korean Peninsula and supports the efforts of DPRK and ROK to
improve relations so as to eventually achieve peaceful
reunification.
China will continue to hold this position and play a constructive
role in promoting peace and stability across the Korean Peninsula,
he said.
Nepal King's China visit to further ties
The Foreign Ministry spokesman said the state visit to China of
Nepalese King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev will further boost the
friendly and good-neighborly ties between the two nations.
He
said the friendly and cooperative relations between China and
Nepal, two close neighbors, were founded on the basis of the Five
Principles of Peaceful Coexistence.
China and Nepal have maintained diplomatic ties for nearly half a
century, always treated each other equally, respected and supported
one another, cooperating well in political, economic, trade,
cultural, tourism and other realms.
As
Nepal's friendly neighbor, China resolutely supports the measures
adopted by the Nepalese King and government to keep domestic peace
and stability, and sincerely hopes the country could maintain
peace, stability and development, the spokesman added.
( July 10, 2002)