Chinese President Jiang Zemin reaffirmed Monday that China supports
a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.
Jiang made the remarks during his meeting with Republic of Korea
(ROK) President Kim Dae-jung after the conclusion of the Asia
Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum leaders' meeting.
He
said China has consistently worked to maintain peace and stability
on the Korean Peninsula, and it hopes that the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States can settle the
dispute through dialogue, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry
spokesman.
The DPRK acknowledged earlier this month that it has been working
on a nuclear weapons program, causing extensive global concern. The
issue was a key topic during Jiang's meeting with US President
George W. Bush last week, when Jiang said China "was completely in
the dark about the program.''
Kim Dae-jung congratulated Jiang on his successful visit to the US
and briefed Jiang about the ROK's stand on the latest situation on
the peninsula.
In
a separate meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov
Monday, the Chinese president again condemned the hostage crisis
perpetrated by alleged Chechen rebels in a Moscow theatre, and
expressed China's firm support for the Russian Government's actions
in Chechnya against terrorism.
Jiang said he was pleased that the crisis had been settled, the
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
Russian special forces stormed the theatre, in which scores of
armed men had taken 1,000 theatre-goers hostage. Reports said that
about 50 militants and more than 100 hostages were killed in the
operation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin cancelled his trip to the APEC
meeting, and sent Kasyanov instead.
Kasyanov conveyed Putin's greetings to Jiang, and said Putin was
looking forward to his scheduled meeting with Jiang in Beijing in
December.
Jiang commended the state of Sino-Russian relations, and said
bilateral ties have been built on a sound political, economic and
social basis.
Russia and China's good neighborly relations have been developing
smoothly, Kasyanov echoed, and Russia hopes to advance the ties by
expanding exchanges of personnel, and through cultural and
educational cooperation.
During his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
Monday, Jiang reiterated that "drawing lessons from the past while
looking into the future'' serves as an essential principle in
developing Sino-Japanese relations.
"Japan's attitude towards historical issues (the Japanese invasion
of China in 1930s and 1940s) affects the feelings of 1.3 billion
Chinese people,'' Jiang told Koizumi. Both were in Los Cabos
attending the APEC meeting.
"(We) hope that Japan, the Japanese leaders in particular, will
take a correct attitude, and properly handle related issues so as
to ensure long-term friendship,'' Jiang said.
Koizumi said Japan hopes to consolidate relations with China. The
large-scale activities held last month to mark the 30th anniversary
of the normalization of bilateral ties demonstrated that
Sino-Japanese relations have a solid foundation.
Japan will continue to reflect deeply on the war so as not to let
it happen again, Koizumi was quoted as saying by the Chinese
Foreign Ministry spokesman.
(China
Daily October 28, 2002)