On 19 June Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Liu
Jianchao held a regular press conference.
Liu
Jianchao: Good afternoon everybody. Ill begin with an
announcement. At the invitation of Foreign Minister Li
Zhaoxin, Foreign Minister Bill Graham will visit China from
June 22nd to 24th.
Q: The US President
Bush criticized Iran for its nuclear program. Whats
Chinas comment on that?
A: The
position of China on nuclear weapons has been consistent. We
are opposed to the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction, nuclear weapons included. Thereve been
quite a lot of speculations about Irans nuclear
program. Chinese Government supports the additional protocol
of IAEA with a view to enhancing the existing safeguarding
and monitoring system. China signed the protocol in December
1998 and completed relevant legal procedures required by
domestic law to validate it last March. China is the first
among the five nuclear states to ratify the protocol and
hopes that other countries can sign and ratify the protocol
at an early date. In the meantime, we maintain that
nonproliferation should not be a hurdle to the peaceful use
of related technologies. Its our hope that the ongoing
board meetings of IAEA will help to get some clarity of the
nuclear plans and related nuclear cooperation of
Iran.
Q: Its been widely
reported that during his meeting with the Japanese and ROK
Foreign Ministers, Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxin agreed to
expand the tripartite talks in Beijing to multilateral talks
where R.O.K. and Japan can participate. He also promised
that China would try its best to pull DPRK back to the
negotiating table. Can you confirm
this?
A: Foreign Ministers of China,
Japan and R.O.K. talked about the Korean nuclear issue and
expressed their positions respectively when they held talks
the day before yesterday. The other two expressed
appreciation of the role of China in making the Beijing
Talks a reality. And its agreed by the three to
continue the process of Beijing Talks.
At
present the shared goal of the international community is to
ensure a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, which enjoys peace
and stability. Beijing Talks are a sound start to address
the nuclear issue peacefully through dialogue. Its the
universal hope of the international community to continue
the process. Its also a shared belief. China has
always kept contact with relevant countries, hoping that
relevant countries can adopt a flexible and practical
attitude to continue the process. China doesnt wish to
see the process hampered by different views about the
formality. Neither does it wish to see the goal of ensuring
a nuclear-free, peaceful and stable Korean Peninsula
affected by disagreement on formality.
Q: Two
questions about the visit by Prime Minister Vajpayee. First,
there are only a few days to go before the visit starts. But
who will meet with him, when and some other details of his
schedule still seem to be under discussion. Given the
transparency of the diplomacy of China, can you disclose
here whom will he meet with during the visit? My second
question relates to the border issues between China and
India. I understand that the two have exchanged maps of the
middle section of the border. Can you tell us the situation
in the eastern and western part along the border and the
nature of the disputes between China and
India?
A: Spokespersons of the
Foreign Ministry have been trying our best to update you
diplomatically, including the schedule of Prime Minister
Vajpayees visit to China. Premier Wen Jiabao will hold
talks with him. As our usual practice, other state leaders
will also meet with him. This matter is irrelevant to
transparency. Well release relevant news in due course
after the meetings.
The question concerning
border issues is a very technical matter and it takes more
than on occasion like this to elucidate. This morning,
deputy director-general of the Department of Asian Affairs
of the Ministry briefed us on the related issue. China
believes that the two sides can find a fair and reasonable
solution to the border issues so long as we follow the
principles of negotiation on an equal footing, mutual
understanding and accommodation, and mutual
readjustment.
Q: One more
question about the visit by Prime Minister Vajpayee. How
many countries does China know refuse to recognize Sikkim as
part of India?
A: Youd better
refer the question to relevant countries. China and India
are having and will continue to have helpful discussions on
that.
Q: Are the two sides going to
discuss the closer military exchanges between India and
Israel during the visit? Does China believe their military
exchanges conducive to peace and stability of the
region?
A: We have always endorsed
the development of relations among states in various fields
in light of the five principles of peaceful coexistence.
China also wishes to see India and Israel develop their
friendly relations and cooperation in all fields, hoping
that the cooperation conforms to peace, stability and
development of the region.
Q: About
SARS. How many countries does the Foreign Ministry know
still have travel restrictions upon
China?
A: We have released related
information on the website of the Ministry very recently. My
colleagues have also updated you here. There are some
countries taking travel restrictions on Chinese citizens
because of the outbreak of SARS in China. With the
relaxation of the epidemic, some countries have eased or
lifted the restrictions. Things change very swiftly and
its not easy to collect all the statistics. But I can
tell you that as some countries still have travel
restrictions, many are relaxing or lifting the restrictions.
There are also countries that have never adopted
restrictions from the very beginning.
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