Wen to attend UN conferences, meet Obama
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Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will attend a series of United Nations conferences and meet with United States President Barack Obama in New York later this month.
Wen's UN trip, slated for Sept. 21 to 23, included a UN summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and the general debate of the 65th session of the UN General Assembly, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a Tuesday briefing.
Wen would also attend a meeting of leaders from the UN Security Council member states, a discussion panel on the MDG and HIV/AIDS, and meet with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin told a follow-up briefing.
Wen would deliver speeches at the UN conferences to elaborate on China's stance and measures on development, the world situation and the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, Liu said.
"By attending the meetings, China hopes to strengthen the authority and role of the United Nations in development and promote international cooperation," Liu said.
Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Yi Xiaozhun said at the second briefing that China would continue its aid to other developing states as it had promised.
"But it's a two-way assistance between developing countries and different from North-South relations," he said.
Yi pledged China's assistance to other developing countries, including the least developed, in human resources, training, healthcare, agriculture and governmental interest-free loans.
"In fact, China has helped other developing countries to cope with the financial crisis by encouraging its domestic companies to invest abroad and open its market," Yi said.
China's overseas investment climbed by 1.1 percent last year, when the global figure was 43 percent down, figures from the Ministry of Commerce show.
"About 88 percent of China's overseas investment last year, or 49.5 billion U.S. dollars, went to developing countries, and it is expected to exceed 70 billion U.S. dollars in 2014," Yi said.
Meanwhile, China was stepping up its efforts to grant free duty for 95 percent of imports from the least developed states, he said.
On the healthcare-related MDG and the global struggle against HIV/AIDS, Chinese Health Minister Chen Zhu said at the second briefing that China would push for the scheduled achievement of the goals and strengthen south-south cooperation on HIV/AIDS.
The number of new HIV carrier and AIDS patients in China had dropped from about 70,000 in 2005 to 50,000 in 2007 and 48,000 last year, Chen said.
The anti-HIV/AIDS fund from the central government surged from 100 million yuan (15 mln. U.S. dollars) in 2001 to 1.6 billion yuan (239 mln. U.S. dollars) this year, according to ministry statistics.
Chen voiced concerns over the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS in Chinese migrant workers, whose health services were still unsatisfactory.
"Through the discussion panel, we will illustrate the developing countries' determination to cope with HIV/AIDS and achieve MDG, ask for further cooperation among us and call on developed states and the international community to fulfill their political promises," Chen said.
Wen's meeting with Obama is also expected to be an important chance for China and the United States to further bilateral ties and deepen mutual trust as top leaders from the two countries talk face to face.
In June, Chinese President Hu Jintao held talks with Obama on sidelines of the G20 summit in Toronto, when the two sides agreed to promote bilateral relations and expand common interests, and strengthen cooperation in many major international and regional issues.
Earlier this month, when the China-U.S. relations was facing complex situation, U.S. National Economic Council Chairman Larry Summers and Deputy National Security Adviser Thomas Donilon paid visit to China, and held meetings with several Chinese leaders.
"China and the United States should make unremitting efforts to enhance dialogue and cooperation, increase common interests, and properly handle problems that emerge in bilateral ties," Hu told the two senior U.S. officials during his meeting with them.
