The Foreign Ministry said yesterday that China supports early
negotiations on the signing of the Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty
(FMCT).
China has taken positive action
toward this end based on the comprehensive and balanced work
program of the disarmament conference, the ministry's spokesman Qin
Gang said at yesterday's regular press conference.
"We believe this is an important step in promoting multi-lateral
nuclear disarmament," he said.
Qin said the international community is working to safeguard and
strengthen the international non-proliferation mechanism, and it is
of great importance that negotiations are started early so that an
agreement on the FMCT can be reached as early as possible to reduce
the risk of nuclear material spreading.
Commenting on the recent visit made by three US senators, Qin
said China maintains the trade frictions and problems between China
and the US should not be politicized. Instead, they should be
handled through consultation according to the principle of common
development and mutual benefit, he noted.
Qin said China believes the visit by the three US senators will
help increase their knowledge of the conditions of the China-US
relationship, bilateral economic and trade cooperation and China's
positions and measures?in these respects.
He said China believes the visit will also help the three
senators take a more rational, just and objective attitude in
handling problems between China and the US.
With regard to the RMB exchange rate, Qin said that China
insists on choosing a reasonable currency rate system that is in
accordance with China's actual conditions and takes into account
the influence of any adjustments on international and regional
economies.
Three US senators visited China from March 20 to 26. Key points
on the discussion agenda included the US-China trade imbalance, the
RMB exchange rate and intellectual property rights protection.
A delegation from the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National
People's Congress (NPC) is now visiting the US.
Qin said China hopes the visit will increase mutual
understanding between the legislative organs of the two countries
and have a positive effect on China-US relations.
He said as various circles of the US and especially the US
Congress pay close attention to China-US relations, it is necessary
for the two sides to maintain dialogue.
Turning to the Iranian nuclear issue, Qin said it is still
possible to ease the standoff within the framework of the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
China maintains its stand that the international system of
non-proliferation of nuclear weapons should be safeguarded, and the
nuclear issue should be resolved through negotiations.
As to the upcoming meeting of foreign ministers from the UK,
France, Germany, the US, Russia and China in Berlin tomorrow, Qin
said China received the invitation to attend and is considering
it.
The meeting is an important part of the effort of the
international community to resolve the issue through negotiation,
he said.
Turning to China-Japan relations, Qin said heads of seven
Japan-China friendship organizations based in Japan will visit
China at the end of this month as guests of the China-Japan
Friendship Association.
He said discussions will focus on how to increase
non-governmental exchanges and promote the development of bilateral
relations.
"This is a significant visit," Qin said.
The non-governmental exchanges between China and Japan are of
great importance to the enhancement of friendship between the two
peoples and to the improvement and development of China-Japan
relations,?he said.
In another development, Qin said the Falun Gong group had made
an "absurd lie" by claiming its followers were being killed at a
prison in northeast China.
"This lie is not worth refuting and no one will buy it," he
said.
Some Falun Gong groups in the US reportedly alleged there was a
Sujiatun "concentration camp" near Shenyang, capital city of
Liaoning Province, where they said some 6,000 Falun Gong
practitioners were being imprisoned.
They claimed two-thirds had been killed and cremated.
"The lie began to circulate on March 8, but we disregarded it
because it was far too absurd," Qin said.
The Falun Gong group later changed its earlier statement and
claimed the camp was set up in a small hospital.
"How can 6,000 people be accommodated at a small hospital?" Qin
asked.
He invited reporters to visit the area to see for themselves
that there was no such camp operating.
He said the Falun Gong cult enjoyed spreading false accusations
in the public arena.
For example, Falun Gong started a rumor that about 9 million
members of the Communist Party of China had quit their membership,
and membership numbers were steadily falling.
"Were that the case, the Party would have already fallen," Qin
said.
(Xinhua News Agency, China Daily?March 29,
2006)