Jiang, Bush to Discuss Sino-US Ties: Spokeswoman

Chinese President Jiang Zemin and US President George W. Bush will exchange views on Sino-US relations and other major issues of shared interest during their scheduled meeting in Shanghai later this week.

Zhang Qiyue, spokeswoman of the China Secretariat for APEC 2001, made the remark at a briefing on the agenda of the informal Senior Officials' Meeting Monday morning.

Jiang and Bush are expected to meet in Shanghai during the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Economic Leaders' Meeting, and Zhang said, "I don't think there will be any changes in the program."

Zhang added the US president values the APEC Economic Leaders ' Meeting and the Sino-US ties.

The US side announced earlier President Bush had decided to postpone his planned visit to four Asian countries including China because of the new development of the international situation.

Zhang said President Bush will come to Shanghai for the APEC meeting and meet President Jiang and other Chinese leaders. They will have extensive discussions on bilateral ties and other issues of common concern.

Zhang Qiyue Briefs on Informal SOM's Agenda, Topics and Perspective

On October 15, the Spokesperson for the China Secretariat of APEC 2001 Ms. Zhang Qiyue held a briefing in the International Media Center (IMC) on the agenda as well as other related information on the Informal Senior Officials' Meeting (ISOM) of APEC 2001.

With respect to the program of the Senior Officials' Meeting, Ms Zhang said that the Informal Senior Officials' Meeting will be held on Monday, October 15, 2001 from 9:00 to 12:30 and from 14:00 to 17:30. Mr. Wang Guangya, APEC SOM Chair, will host an informal luncheon for senior officials from 12:30 to 13:30. She said that the meeting will be held at Mandarin Hall, 1st floor, International Convention Center (ICC). On the basis of bilateral consultations, she said that the Chair is quite confident that the ISOM will draw to a conclusion at the end of the day.

Regarding the agenda items of the SOM, Ms Zhang said that China had successfully hosted over a dozen APEC meetings this year including three SOMs. With the joint efforts from all parties concerned, this year's SOMs have made substantive progress and reached consensus on many issues. The main topics of this SOM include strengthening multilateral trade system, promoting the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment, human resources capacity building, economic and technological cooperation and new economy. During today's meeting, all members will discuss the draft of the Joint Ministerial Statement and the Declaration of the Economic Leaders' Meeting.

When answering questions concerning the participation of the Senior Officials' Meeting, Ms Zhang said that all 21 APEC members and 3 observers, namely, ASEAN Secretariat, Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC), and Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), sent representatives to participate in the Senior Officials' Meeting.

Ms Zhang also said, the main purpose of this Senior Officials' Meeting is to prepare for the upcoming APEC Ministerial Meeting and the Economic Leader's Meeting. At present, the APEC member economies have already reached consensus on most issues. Ms Zhang expressed her hope that this SOM will be conducive to promoting all the parties concerned to reach consensus in various fields, in order to lay a foundation for the smooth running and success of the APEC Ministerial Meeting and the Economic Leader's Meeting.






People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/