On 8 July Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Kong Quan
held a regular press conference.
Kong: Good
afternoon. I have no news to announce today. I heard that
the alarm was sounded when many of you went through the
temperature gate. I was told later that it was because of
the hot weather that resulted in high temperature of
yourselves and the equipment you brought with you. So there
is no harm and no risk at all. I am very glad that you are
all in good health. The floor is now open.
Q: The Hong Kong SAR Government has delayed
the legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law because of
disagreement within Hong Kong. I have two questions. Is the
debate in HK lawful? It is reported that the NPC urges the
HK legislative body to adopt the legislation rapidly. Will
it be seen as an interference of "One Country, Two
Systems? A: As for the
Article 23, I have mentioned our position many times. I
don't want to repeat. The SAR government decided Sunday to
solicit public opinions about this draft ordinance further.
I believe most of the HK people love China and love HK and
they will support the SAR government, headed by Mr. Tung
Chee-hwa, to finish this legislation. As to
your second question, are you referring to the remarks made
by the official in charge of the Committee of Judicial Work
under the NPC? I think his remarks are explicit which mean
that on the one hand legislation of Article 23 is necessary
to be drafted by the SAR government in accordance with the
Basic Law and on the other hand, it has made clear its
attitude concerning the decision of the SAR government to
solicit more opinions from the Hong Kong people. I think his
remarks are very clear and I cannot draw the conclusion you
mentioned in your question. Q:
Last Saturday, a terrorist attack occurred in
Moscow, which killed 13 people. I have known China's stand.
Can you introduce to us what measures will China and Russia
jointly take to combat terrorism? A:
China firmly condemns the terrorist attack in Moscow, which
took place last week. President Hu Jintao sent a letter to
President Putin to express condolences to the victims and
the wounded and their families. Hu reiterated China and
Russia would make joint efforts to strengthen cooperation to
combat terrorism. China and Russia have taken some measures
in both the framework of Shanghai Cooperation Organization
and through bilateral channels. The two sides will conduct
more consultation and fight terrorism cooperatively.
Q: China has warmly received visiting ROK
president 20 days before the 50th anniversary of the
Armistice Agreement of the Korea War. Which country will
your government celebrate the anniversary with on July 27,
the commemoration day of the signing of the Agreement, the
DPRK or the ROK? A: That's
two different questions. You should know China's comments on
that event very clearly. If not, I recommend you an
important speech given by former president Jiang Zeming on
25 October 2000 at the meeting of people of all walks of
life in Beijing commemorating the 50th anniversary of the
Chinese Voluntary Army going to Korea to fight against
America. China
pursues a policy of good-neighborliness and friendship. It
persists in the principle of treating its neighbors with
kindness and taking its neighbors as partners and has kept
good relations with both the ROK and DPRK. It must be
pointed out that there are questions cropping up on the
Korean peninsula that call for concern. The Chinese
government has always adopted a responsible and constructive
attitude to promote reconciliation, promote talks and reduce
tension. The active, constructive and responsible role
played by China on the DPRK nuclear question has been
acknowledged by the international community. During his
talks with President Roh Moo-hyun of the ROK yesterday,
President Hu stressed that the Chinese government will, as
always, promote the settlement of the DPRK nuclear question
peacefully through dialog and through diplomatic means so as
to relax the situation on the peninsula, support the
denuclearization on the peninsula and safeguard peace and
stability in Northeast Asia. Q: The
Chinese government said that it believed the SAR government
headed by Tung Chee-hwa would be able to finish the
legislation of Article 23. If the Chinese government thinks
he does a good job, why is there the demonstration of half a
million people in Hong Kong against it? My second question:
why doesnt the Chinese government and media cover the
legislation of Article 23 in Hong Kong, especially after the
SAR government postponed the legislation?
A: As to the demonstration held by the Hong Kong
people to express their opinions, the SAR government has
expressed their comments. I do think you can fully
understand that it is not within the responsibility of the
spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry. On your
second question, I think you must have noticed that the
press conferences of the Ministry last from half an hour to
one hour. I remember that I answered 75 questions at the
most. But I only read limited reports of my answers in
western and American media. There was once no report at all
of my 40-minute press conference. So you can see that it is
the decision of the media themselves as what to report.
Q: It is reported by the ROK media
that President Roh Moo-hyun, when talking about the DRPK
nuclear question, expressed his hope that multi-lateral
talks including Japan and the ROK can be convened. What is
your response? Do you agree with his hope and
demand? A: At the joint press
conference held by President Hu Jintao and President Roh
Moo-hyun after their talks, they both mentioned that the two
countries shared many common points on the DPRK nuclear
question. First, both stand for the denuclearization on the
peninsula; second, both stand for peace and stability on the
peninsula; and third, both maintain that the DPRK nuclear
question should be solved peacefully. The ROK side expressed
in particular that it appreciated the efforts made by China
to promote the Beijing talks in order to solve the DPRK
nuclear question peacefully and the ROK side hoped that the
process could continue. As how many parties
are appropriate, we dont think the formality is the
most important. The key is result. To quote the remarks made
by President Roh Moo-hyun, practical results are most
important. The key is to have the talks to start, to
continue the process of the Beijing talks and that all
parties can make its efforts to the denuclearization, peace
and stability on the peninsula. Q:
Will the Chinese side promote the participation of other
countries in the talks? What is the next move to be made by
the Chinese side in promoting multi-lateral
talks? A: The Chinese side will, as
always, make its own positive efforts. As to conducting
consultations with which countries, the formality and
channel are multiple. The key is to promote various parties
to enhance contact, understanding and trust so as to
continue the process of the Beijing talks.
Apart from the visit to the US by Vice Foreign
Minister Wang Yi which I introduced last time, Vice Minister
Dai Bingguo paid a visit to the Russia recently and held
meetings with Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, Deputy Director
of the Presidents Office and Assistant to the
President on International Affairs, and the Vice Foreign
Minister in charge of Asian and Pacific affairs. The focus
was the DPRK nuclear question and they of course also
touched upon some bilateral issues. On the DPRK nuclear
question, the two sides reached wide consensus. The key
points include supporting denuclearization on the Korean
peninsula and safeguarding peace and stability on the
peninsula, and solving the DPRK nuclear question through
dialog while solving the reasonable security concern of the
DPRK. The two sides both agreed to continue the efforts to
push for the proper settlement of the DPRK nuclear question
through peaceful means. Q: Is my
comment on Chinas relations with the DPRK and the ROK
correct? Chinas relations with the DPRK are mainly on
security because of the bilateral treaty and its relations
with the ROK are mainly on economic aspects as the bilateral
trade volume reaches 40 billion USD? Another question. What
is the trade volume between China and the
DPRK? A: Your comment on
Chinas relations with the DPRK and the ROK is
incomplete. China and the DPRK have traditional friendship
and the bilateral relations between the two countries have
developed smoothly and rapidly in all fields with constant
exchange, contact, coordination and cooperation. Similarly,
it is incorrect to describe Chinas relations with the
ROK as economic one. During the talks between President Hu
Jintao and President Roh Moo-hyun, the heads of states of
the two countries agreed that they would lift the bilateral
relations up to the partnership of comprehensive
cooperation. Such relations cover political, economic,
educational, cultural, scientific and technological and all
other fields. In order to achieve this goal, President Hu
put forward five suggestions. The first is to increase
exchange between the two countries, high-level exchange of
visits in particular and exchange between the young people.
The second is about the economic relations and trade you
mentioned just now. President Hu, while talking about
strengthening the economic relations and trade between the
two countries, mentioned in particular the trade deficit
existing for quite sometime in Chinas trade with the
ROK. It reached 82.4 billion USD on an accumulative basis in
recent years. The figure is quite considerable. Of course we
have no intention to seek the absolute trade balance. For
example Chinas foreign trade witnessed trade deficit
from January to March this year and it was only in April
that surplus of 0.1 billion USD began to emerge. So the
question is not whether there is trade deficit but there is
trade deficit of large volume for a relatively long period.
We hope that the ROK side will pay attention to this
question. President Roh Moo-hyun said that the ROK would
attach importance to this question and hoped to fill the gap
through further development of bilateral economic relations
and trade and conducting comprehensive cooperation in all
fields. We hold it positively. The two countries have also
developed their relations and shared broad prospect in
culture, energy, finance, communication and other fields.
As to the question of trade volume between
China and the DPRK, I cant remember the exact figure.
It was about 0.7 billion USD last year. There are other
forms of trade between China and the DPRK including border
trade and other economic cooperation. The statistics of the
Customs cannot cover the whole content of the bilateral
economic cooperation and trade. And of course the situation
with the DPRK is different with the ROK. We sincerely hope
that the DPRK will continue to develop its national economy
and constantly enhance peoples livelihood so as to
conduct better economic and trade cooperation between China
and the DPRK. Q: In order to
coordinate the DPRK nuclear question, China has sent two
special envoys, one to the US and the other to Russia but no
one to Japan. Do you think that the role that Japan can play
right now is less important? Second question. Winter is only
a few months away. Do you think that the DPRK can solve its
cold problem at the time. Does it need international
help? A: China has kept consultation
with Japan in international affairs. Director-General of the
Department of Asian and Oceanic Region of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of Japan came to Beijing on 6 July to have
consultation with Fu Ying, Director-General of the
Department of Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of China. The main topic was the DPRK nuclear
question. So your question is less than objective. The
Chinese side has always welcomed the efforts made by all
sides to solve the DPRK nuclear question peacefully.
As to your second question, we believe that the DPRK
people will overcome the difficulty that they may come
across in their nation building. Q:
Are you happy to see any positive changes or more
willingness by the US and the DPRK sides to accept the
multilateral talks? Now Wang Yi is in the US and holding
talks with the US side. Is there any positive progress in
the work of the DPRK side?
A: The
DPRK nuclear question is a very complex question.
It broke out once in 1992. Subsequently
the US and DPRK sides arrived at a solution of certain form
that held for a period of time by reaching the Agreed
Framework. Since this question cropped up again,
it has attracted wide international attention because it
bears upon peace and stability of Northeast Asia.
The Chinese side has all along been working on
this question and played a positive role in the hope that
the question may be settled by peaceful means.
Just now you referred to the visit to the US by
Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Vice Foreign
Minister Dai Bingguo visited Russia. The Chinese
side will stay in touch with the parties by means of its
own. The basic objective we laid down has been
endorsed by the various parties. People share the
hope that the Beijing Process that came off to a good start
can move forward. Q: There is news
that Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit DPRK after his
US trip. Could you confirm it?
A: So far I have not received information to that
effect. As I said to you just now, the Chinese
side will work hard in its own way for the peaceful
settlement of the DPRK nuclear question.
Q: During President Roh Moo-hyuns
visit to China, did he discuss with the Chinese side the
security concerns of DPRK or the question of providing
security guarantee to DPRK? A: The
handling of the DPRK nuclear question requires overall
planning and consideration of all factors which involve not
only giving firm support for the denuclearization of the
Korean Peninsula and making sure that no nuclear weapons
appear on the Peninsula but also ensuring peace and
stability on the Peninsula as well as addressing the
legitimate security concerns of DPRK.
Q: The Foreign Minister of Myanmar visited
China last week. Could you please brief us on his
talks with the Chinese leadership? Did the two
sides discuss the current political situation in Myanmar,
particularly on Aung San Suu Kyi? A:
The Myanmese Foreign Minister paid a one-day visit to China
two days ago. He met with State Councilor Tang
Jiaxuan and held talks with Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing.
The talks focused on the bilateral ties.
The Myanmese Foreign Minister also briefed the
Chinese side the latest domestic situation in Myanmar and
some of the considerations on the mind of his government.
The Chinese side reaffirmed its faith in the
ability of the Myanmese government and people in properly
handling their internal affairs and at the same time
reiterated the positive approach of the Chinese government
for furthering relations between the two countries.
Kong Quan: If there is no other question, let me
recommend to you an authoritative book on Chinas
diplomacy. Chinas Foreign Affairs (2003
Edition) was published recently in Beijing by the World
Knowledge Press. The book reviewed the
international situation and Chinas diplomatic efforts
in 2002 and gave a systemic account of the foreign policies
and the position of the Chinese government on the current
international situation and major international questions.
It is an authoritative work designed to give
people from various circles both in and outside China a
panoramic view of Chinas foreign affairs.
And to meet the needs of the audience, the English
version of the book was also published for the first time on
a test basis this year.
|