The question of Taiwan will be central to bilateral talks during
US Secretary of State Colin Powell's visit, Foreign Ministry
spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said at a regular press conference in
Beijing Thursday.
Zhang said the issue is the most important and sensitive one in
relations between the two countries. China urges the US to follow
its pledge to stick to a "One China" policy and the Three
Joint Communiqués and to oppose Taiwanese independence.
The US was called on to cease all diplomatic ties with Taiwan
and all military connections, including weapons sales. China
pressed for the sending of ambivalent messages about Taiwan to end
in order for relations with the US to develop smoothly.
Zhang said that Powell's visit will be crucial in promoting
bilateral relations and that China is looking forward to exchanging
views on issues of common concern, such as the Korean Peninsula
nuclear issue and anti-terrorism campaigns.
As two major nations in the world and permanent members of the
United Nations Security Council, China and the US have many shared
areas of interest and both have a responsibility to help maintain
world peace, Zhang added.
She also wants all countries to make a contribution to the
integration of the textile trade in line with the Uruguay Round of
trade talks that were held in 1994 among World Trade Organization
(WTO) members and other countries.
The European Union will eliminate quota restrictions on Chinese
textile imports next year, but will raise their tariff rate from 9
to 12 percent. According to the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing,
signed during the Uruguay Round, WTO members will replace quotas on
textile imports with tariffs from January 1, 2005.
In another development, Zhang announced that China will attend
the international conference on Iraq on November 22-23 in the
Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh along with the Iraqi
interim government, Iraq's neighbors, the Organization of the
Islamic Conference, the Group of Eight and other regional
organizations.
China hopes that Iraq can be stabilized and general elections
held as scheduled, "So as to elect a government with wide
representation and gradually develop its reconstruction
process."
The conference will discuss the implementation of relevant UN
resolutions, economic aid to Iraq and reconstruction, Egyptian
presidential spokesman Maged Abdel Fattah announced on
Wednesday.
Referring to the consultation on
Sino-Japan disputes over the East China Sea, scheduled for
October 25, Zhang said the two sides should "further increase
mutual understanding through calm dialogue and consultation."
The Chinese delegation will be headed by Cui Tiankai,
director-general of the Foreign Ministry's Department of Asian
Affairs, and the Japanese delegation by Mitoji Yabunaka,
director-general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the
Japanese Foreign Ministry.
Commenting on the Korean nuclear issue, Zhang said North Korea
is willing to resolve the nuclear issue through the six-party talks
and pledged more efforts for their early resumption.?
(Xinhua News Agency, CRI October 22, 2004)