China's Top Legislator Li Peng Meets Former US President Carter

Li Peng Meets Former U.S. President Carter

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Li Peng, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, said Monday that China hopes to develop a "constructive and cooperative relationship" with the United States in this new century.

Li made the remark during a meeting with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who arrived here Sunday on a private visit.

The chairman said China appreciates the former U.S. president's efforts to promote China-U.S. relations both during and after his presidency.

China and the United States share common interest in safeguarding world peace and stability, and global economic development. Therefore, the two sides have every reason to maintain friendly relations and expand cooperation, said Li.

He noted that some people in the U.S. claim that China is a " threat" to the United States, and the U.S. should adopt a containment policy towards China. He stressed that such a viewpoint does not reflect the facts and is "very dangerous."

"China is a developing country with a huge population, and we have put developing the economy and improving the people's living standards as the central task for a long period of time to come," he said. "The objective of our foreign policy is to maintain world peace and promote common development. We hope to develop a constructive and cooperative relationship with the U.S. in this new century."

Li said China and the U.S., as the largest developing country and the largest developed country, respectively, have different national conditions. Therefore, it is not surprising that they hold different views on certain issues.

What is important, Li Peng said, is the two sides should observe the basic norms of international relations, such as mutual respect, treating each other equally and non-interference in each other's internal affairs, as well as the joint statements between China and the U.S. Only then can the two sides handle their differences appropriately and enlarge their cooperation.

After a period of difficult time, China-U.S. relations have begun to gain improvement. China is glad to see this, and views it as a result of joint efforts, he said.

Li said Chinese President Jiang Zemin is expected to meet U.S. President George W. Bush in Shanghai in October during meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and the U.S. president will visit China following the meetings. China hopes, and also believes, that the meeting and visit will improve and strengthen China-U.S. relations.

Carter said he admires the great achievements China has made in its reform and opening-up drive initiated by Deng Xiaoping. He stressed that the U.S. and China are no threat to each other, and should develop their relationship on the basis of their joint statements.

The future of U.S.-China relations is determined by the friendly cooperation between the people of the two countries, he said.

The former U.S. president also congratulated Beijing on its successful bid for the 2008 Olympics.

Earlier Monday morning, Carter held a working conference with Zeng Jianhui, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress.