Ceremony Commemorates September 11 Incident in Beijing

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, December 12, 2001

Ceremony Commemorates September 11 Incident in Beijing

Vice Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, on behalf of the Chinese government, attended a ceremony hosted Tuesday evening in Beijing by Michael William Marine, US minister counselor to China, to commemorate the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington D.C.. Li reiterated the stance of the Chinese government and said China is ready to work with the US to strengthen dialogues and cooperation in anti-terrorism issues.

Li expressed sympathy for the relatives of those who died or were injured during the attacks as well as the US people as a whole.

Stance of Chinese Government Reiterated

He said that, just as Chinese President Jiang Zemin had said over the phone to US President George W. Bush, the attacks were a challenge to the sincere aspirations for peace of the peoples of the whole world.

He said that the Chinese government opposes any form of terrorism, strongly condemning the horrifying incident.

Sino-US Cooperation Fruitful

He noted that China and the US have conducted fruitful consultations and cooperation in the field of anti-terrorism since the incident, establishing a medium- and long-term mechanism for the anti-terrorism task.

He added that China is ready to work with the US to strengthen dialogues and cooperation in this regard.

Common Interests Shared

Li said that upheavals in the international situation show that China and the US have broad common interests, although they still have differences.

Developing constructive and cooperative relations between the two countries conforms to the interest of the two peoples, and benefits peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region and the world, he added.

U.S. Marks Three-Month Anniversary of September 11 Attacks

The United States marked the three-month anniversary of September 11 terrorist attacks on Tuesday with the American national anthem playing at the White House and across the country.

President George W. Bush, who led the commemoration, said America does not need monuments and memorials to grieve the deaths of more than 3,000 people killed in the terrorist attacks.

In New York City, firefighters and construction workers stopped work to observe a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. local time (1346 GMT) at ground zero.

The astronauts aboard space shuttle Endeavor and the international space station also joined the commemoration.

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U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft on Tuesday announced the first indictment concerning September 11 terrorist attacks which killed over 3,000 people. The suspect, Zacarias Moussaoui, had raised investigators' suspicions by seeking flight lessons in Minnesota a month before the hijackings.

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