Chinese FM on relations with neighboring countries

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, March 07, 2004

Chinese FM on relations with neighboring countries

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Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing Saturday contributed much of his time to talk about bilateral relations between China and its neighboring countries, at a press conference of the current national legislature session.

Li announced that Chinese and Russian presidents will hold a summit in Beijing in the latter half of this year. Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, and Premier Wen Jiabao will also pay an official visit to Russia this year.

China's Premier Wen Jiabao has sent a message to congratulate Mikhail Fradkov on his nomination as Russia's new prime minister, Li noted.

During a meeting of the two presidents, the year 2004 was made the Year of Friendship between Young Peoples of Two Countries, Li said, adding that it will breathe new vitality into Sino-Russian relations.

The minister said it is a correct choice for the two nations to develop good relations from generation to generation and never become enemies to each other. He spoke highly of China's strategic partnership of cooperation with Russia.

China and Russia are the largest neighbors in the world and share a 4,300 kilometer-long border. Over the past few years, the two countries have signed a series of agreements to strengthen the friendly relations.

Li refuted reports of the existence of the so-called "refugees" from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in China, saying these people are actually "illegal border crossers".

China and the DPRK share a common border of some 1,300 km, and it is nothing strange to see some illegal border crossing between the two countries, said the minister.

The Chinese government can handle the issue well in accordance with domestic laws, international laws and the humanitarian principles, he added.

The minister said that China's method for handling the DPRK illegal border crossers has been highly praised by the international community.

He went on to accuse some few people of attempting to "politicize the issue" by confusing the concepts of "refugees" and "illegal border crossers" and even inciting those people to create political incidents such as forcing their way into foreign diplomatic institutions.

Asked about the China-ROK relations, Li said that specific matters concerning a proposed visit to the ROK by Chinese President Hu Jintao were under discussion between the two sides through diplomatic channels.

Economic, trade and cultural links between China and the ROK are developing rapidly these years, while the two countries are carrying out good cooperation, he added. He disclosed that next week he will extend an invitation to his ROK (Republic of Korea) counterpart Yoon Young-kwan to visit China.

When asked to confirm the alleged uranium enrichment program of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Li said, "We don't have as much information as you do about the alleged DPRK uranium program."

"(Even) if your information is supported by evidence, that will have nothing to do with China," the minister added.

China has always advocated a nuclear-weapon-free Korean Peninsula, Li said, "We don't wish to see a Korean Peninsula with nuclear weapons, we wish to see a Korean Peninsula that is peaceful, stable and prosperous."

The role China plays in helping resolve the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula is "to promote peace talks and to make peace", said the minister.

He also expressed the hopes that all sides concerned in the six-party talks on the Korean nuclear issue could play a constructive role in having a peaceful solution to the issue through dialogue.

On relations with Japan, Li said only when the Japanese leaders take history as a mirror and look into the future, can the friendship between China and Japan develop from generation to generation. The mainstream of Sino-Japanese relationship is good and progress has been made in bilateral exchanges and cooperation in all fields, he said.

The bilateral trade volume reached 133.5 billion US dollars last year and the number of visitors exchanged reached three million, according to the minister.

The two countries have also enhanced their coordination and cooperation in both regional and international affairs, the foreign minister noted, citing the most recent instance of the participation in the second round of six-party talks held in Beijing.

In the fight against SARS last year, China got the biggest material assistance from the Japanese government and people, Li added.

"But the most prominent issue in the bilateral relations," he said, "is that the Japanese leaders insist on visiting the shrine that houses 14 Class-A World War II criminals and that has deeply hurt the feelings of the people of China and other Asian countries", Li pointed out.

He expressed the hope that Japanese leaders should show sincerity and do not be burdened down by historical issues. "The Japanese leaders should take history as a mirror and draw on lessons from history, and make up their minds to live in peace with other countries and treat each other as equals," he said.

He asked the Japanese correspondent to go back home and ask the Japanese leadership why it cannot do what some European countries can.

The Chinese and Japanese people have a history of friendly exchanges for more than 2,000 years, the foreign minister said. There was also a history of Japanese militarists invading China in modern history. "Whatever the case, if China and Japan are to develop their friendship from generation to generation, it is necessary to take history as a mirror and look into the future."

Li said China highly values ties with its "friendly neighbor" Pakistan and gave high appraisal to the active role played by Pakistan in international anti-terrorism campaign.

China is very pleased to see that Pakistan and India are trying every means to improve bilateral relations, said the minister.

Both India and Pakistan are "friendly neighbors" of China, he said, adding that improvement of their relations demonstrated the strategic visions of Indian and Pakistani leaders and reflected common aspiration of the people of the two countries. "China will be glad to play a constructive role in improving relations between India and Pakistan if the two countries would like so," he said.

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