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Qian Qichen Meets US Defense Secretary
Chinese Vice Premier Qian Qichen emphasized Thursday that the proper settlement of the Taiwan
issue is the key to maintaining healthy and stable China-US relations.
Qian, in a meeting with visiting Defense Secretary of the United States William Cohen, urged the US to earnestly abide by the three China-US joint communiques and other commitments related to Taiwan.
He said this year is a key year for China-US relations. Realization of stable and improving China-US relations this year will have a very important significance to the healthy development of the bilateral relations in the future.
He said the development of China-US relations is facing both opportunities and challenges, referring to the meeting between the two presidents during the United Nations Millennium Summit this September.
On China-US trade relations, Qian said exchanges between the two countries in the field have seen great achievements. China-US trade relations will gain a vast range of prospects and benefit people of the two countries if China enters the World Trade Organization (WTO) and receives Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status at an early date.
Cohen said the US government has attached great importance to the development of US-China relations, and adhered to the One-China policy. The US government supports China's accession to the WTO, and will commit to granting China's PNTR status as soon as possible.
He said he hopes and believes that his visit to China will keep bilateral military relations developing on a normal track.
Cohen also delivered a speech this morning at the Chinese People's Liberation Army University of National Defense.
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