British PM Tony Blair Probably to Visit China in July

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, April 17, 2003

British PM Tony Blair Probably to Visit China in July

British Prime Minister Tony Blair will probably visit China in mid-July, and will visit Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China in passing, said an anonymous British diplomat.

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British Prime Minister Tony Blair will probably visit China in mid-July, and will visit Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China in passing, an anonymous British diplomat released this news to China Youth Daily reporter.

Blair's China visit had been fixed in April this year. On the afternoon of March 9, (Beijing Time), former President Jiang Zemin held a phone conversation with Blair on invitation, discussing the Iraq issue.

According to the information released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Jiang Zemin finally expressed his welcome to Blair's visit in April. On March 10, the reporter quickly inquired the British Embassy in China about whether or not Blair will hold a press conference during his visit, and was told that they didn't know the Chinese side had released this news.

From March 20, the United States and Britain launched military attacks against Iraq. At that time, whether or not British Prime Minister Blair and US Vice President Cheney could successfully visit China became an important topic of discussion by the concerned parties of China, Britain and the United States. By the end of March, words from the British side said that Prime Minister Blair would put off his visit to China.

On April 1, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Liu Jianchao expressed his opinions on Blair's postponement of his China visit. He said, "China and Britain have had contacts at various levels. The British side noted that for reasons of the British side, Prime Minister Blair decided to postpone his visit. The Chinese side also expressed its understanding about this, saying: "We welcome Prime Minister Blair to visit China at a time convenient to him."

At the time when a reporter asked whether Blair's "cancellation of his visit" had something to do with SARS, Liu didn't clearly point out the reason, only saying "you may go to ask the British side about the specific reason for postponement, but definitely not because of SARS."

The anonymous British diplomat said that the reason of Blair's postponing his visit was not SARS, but was due to the Iraq War. He said, "because he cannot visit China while thinking about the war on Iraq."

The reporter also learns that Blair has two main missions in his China visit: to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Britain; to attend the largest image public relations activity launched by Britain in China--- "Original Idea of Britain"

By People's Daily Online

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