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Vice Premier Qian Qichen Meets with Powell
Vice Premier Qian Qichen Meets with Powell
Chinese Vice-Premier Qian Qichen and visiting US Secretary of State Colin Powell agreed in a meeting Saturday in Beijing that their two countries should continue their efforts to promote bilateral relations.
Qian said that both sides have worked toward that end, and as a result marked improvement has been seen in ties.
Although the two countries have some differences in some areas, they also have extensive -- and important -- common interests, he said.
The two countries can handle any differences and problems through dialogue and discussion, and they should uphold and expand the common interests, he added.
The scheduled meeting between Chinese President Jiang Zemin and U.S. President George W. Bush in the autumn in Shanghai as well as President Bush's visit to China will offer a historic chance for the bilateral ties to grow in a healthy way in the 21st century, Qian said.
Qian said he hoped the two sides would strengthen their cooperation and deepen their trust for each other, in order to develop a constructive relationship of cooperation.
On the Taiwan issue, Qian reiterated the principled standpoint held by the Chinese government. He said that the Chinese government insists on handling the Taiwan issue in accordance with the basic guideline of "peaceful reunification, and one country, two systems."
"If Taiwan accepts the one-China principle, we could carry on peace talks," Qian said.
Qian also said he hoped the United States would abide by the principles of the three China-US joint communiques and handle the Taiwan issue with caution.
Powell said that the US government will abide by the one-China policy, just as has in the past.
The U.S. side will stick to the three US-China joint communiques, he said.
He said he hoped this visit would promote the bilateral relations. The US wants to carry on dialogue and cooperation with the Chinese side in various fields, he said.
Qian and Powell also exchanged their views on other issues of common concern.
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