The Shanghai Co-operation Organization (SCO) member states will
meet in Shanghai?next week where President Hu Jintao will be host. Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will join the summit as an observer. Foreign
Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao gave these details at a regular
press conference Thursday in Beijing.
Liu said Hu and Ahmadinejad would hold talks on the sidelines of
the regional summit to discuss the Iranian nuclear dispute.
China called for a positive response to the proposals agreed by
the five UN Security Council permanent members and Germany on a
solution to Iran's nuclear issue.
"We hope the proposals will receive a positive response from all
the parties concerned so that negotiations will be resumed soon,"
said Liu. He described the proposals as an "important foundation"
to resolve the issue.
China and Iran would continue to be in contact, enhance mutual
understanding and reach a peaceful solution to the Iranian nuclear
issue, he said. Liu also revealed that Iranian Deputy Foreign
Minister Abbas Araghchi had arrived in Beijing and met Foreign
Minister Li Zhaoxing Thursday.
On Wednesday evening Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing
discussed the Iran nuclear issue with EU foreign policy chief
Javier Solana by phone. The Foreign Ministry said Solana briefed Li
on his visit to Iran and the two agreed to maintain close
contact.
Details of the proposals are unknown but EU diplomats said they
included a light-water nuclear reactor and a foreign supply of
atomic fuel for Iran as well as an offer to suspend sanctions
against Iran in the UN Security Council.
According to earlier reports the proposals also carry penalties
which can be applied by the United Nations Security Council if
Tehran does not cooperate, said the diplomats.
According to Liu the presidents of Mongolia and Pakistan and
India's Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Murli Deora, will
all attend the summit as observers.
Liu also confirmed that Afghan President Hamid Karzai and
representatives from the Commonwealth of Independent States and
Association of Southeast Asian Nations would also be
guests.?
Liu took yesterday's conference as an opportunity to strongly
rebuke Japanese claims that the Tokyo war crimes trial was
"one-sided." He said the claims would be severely condemned by the
international community.
The Yasukuni Shrine, which honors convicted war criminals, has
issued a pamphlet in Chinese and Korean in which it refers to the
trial as "one sided."
Liu said the International Military Tribunal for the Far East
was convened to try the chief culprits who'd waged a war of
aggression and whose hands were stained with blood.
"The trial upheld justice and maintained human dignity," he
said. "Any challenge to it will not succeed. Instead, it will be
strongly condemned by the international community and the majority
of the Japanese people."
On US President George W. Bush's comments on Sino-US relations,
Liu said China was willing to join hands with the US to implement
the important consensus reached by the two heads of state and
promote China-US constructive cooperative ties for the 21st century
in broad terms.
US President George W. Bush has stressed his government's
commitment to cement constructive cooperative ties with China
during his meeting with a Chinese delegation on Monday at the White
House.
The Chinese delegation of senior public servants was led by Zhou
Qiang, first secretary of the Chinese Communist Youth League and
president of China Youth University for Political Sciences. During
the meeting Bush spoke positively of President Hu Jintao's US trip
in April and said China was an important country with huge
potential.
The US was committed to developing constructive cooperative ties
with China and further strengthening the bilateral cooperation in
military, energy, education and youth exchanges, Bush was quoted as
saying.?
Also on Thursday, Liu said China appreciated the "active stance"
and "important efforts" Pakistan had been taking in the
international fight against terrorism.
Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai held a third
round of anti-terrorism consultations with Pakistan on June 6 to
discuss the international and regional position on the war on
terror, China's anti-terror measures and the role of the UN in the
fight against terrorism. Liu acknowledged that such consultations
were helpful.
China supported and was actively participating in the
international anti-terror campaign. As well as Pakistan, China had
also held regular consultations on the fight against terrorism with
the US, Russia, France, Britain and India.
In another development, China welcomed the agreement between the
UN Security Council and the African Union (AU) on handing over the
peacekeeping mission in Sudan's western Darfur region.
The UN Security Council and the AU said Wednesday they agreed on
a timetable to hand over the AU peacekeeping mission in Darfur to a
UN force by January.
Liu said the UN should respect the views of the AU and the
Sudanese government on the issue of the peacekeeping mission.
China took great interest in the situation in Darfur hoping that
all concerned parties would continue their efforts to promote the
implementation of the peace agreement and to achieve peace in the
region at an early date.
Also on Thursday, Liu announced that China has accepted the
offer to observe the exercise with the code name of 'Valiant Shield
2006' in Guam this month. This is the? first invitation of
this kind extended by the US and came during the visit of Commander
of US Forces in the Pacific William Fallon last month.
China and the US on Thursday held their eighth annual round of
defense consultations on building closer military ties. "The
China-US military exchanges like Thursday's defense consultations
will help boost the mutual trust and promote China-US constructive
and cooperative relations," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu
Jianchao.
On state visits Liu announced Chinese President Hu Jintao would
attend the second summit of the member states of the Conference on
Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) to be
held in Almaty of Kazakhstan on June 17. Hu has been invited by
Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
The CICA, a forum aimed at increasing security in Asia, was
first proposed by Nazarbayev at the 47th UN general assembly in
1992. Its 17 members include China, Russia, Egypt, Afghanistan,
Israel, Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, India and Palestine.The first ever
summit of heads of states of the CICA member countries took place
on June 4, 2002, resulting in the creation of a new security forum
for Asia.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will pay official visits to Egypt,
Ghana, the Republic of Congo, Angola, South Africa, Tanzania and
Uganda from June 17 to 24.
His visits are at the invitation of Egyptian Prime Minister
Ahmed Mahmoud Mohamed Nazef, Ghanaian President John Agyekum
Kufuor, President of the Republic of Congo Denis Sassou-nguesso,
Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, South African President
Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki, Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete and
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.
This will be Premier Wen's second visit to Africa, said Liu. He
added that Wen would? hold talks with leaders of the seven
countries and exchange in depth views on promoting bilateral
relations, Sino-African ties and other issues of common concern,
based on the spirit of deepening friendship, enhancing mutual
trust, expanding cooperation and common development.
"Wen's visit will be another important act by China in its
diplomacy toward Africa following the publication of African policy
documents earlier this year and a successful visit by Chinese
President Hu Jintao to three African nations in April," said
Liu.
He said Wen's visit was aimed at further consolidating and
developing the traditional China-Africa friendship, expanding
cooperation of mutual benefit and establishing and developing a new
strategic partnership between the countries.?
"I believe the visits will further strengthen the friendship and
cooperation between China and the seven African countries and
promote the development of Sino-African friendly and cooperative
ties," said Liu.
President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai
will pay a state visit to China from June 18 to 21 at the
invitation of Chinese President Hu Jintao, Liu also announced on
Thursday.
(China Daily, Xinhua News Agency June 9, 2006)