China is seeking to gather the six-party talks' chief delegates in the middle
of this month to help resolve the Korean Peninsula issue, Foreign
Ministry spokesperson Qin Gang said at a press conference
yesterday.
Qin said China was maintaining close contact with the other five
countries, North and South Korea, the US, Russia and Japan, to
negotiate a definite date.
Qin said all parties should move to fulfill their obligations
and implement the initial agreements in a comprehensive and
balanced way, so that discussion on resolving the Korean nuclear
issue can move on.
Media reports in South Korea quoted diplomatic sources as saying
that China had set the resumption date at July 18, barring no major
developments, a date confirmed by the US.
The fresh round of talks would go on for two days, with an
option to extend by a day.
The US chief, Christopher Hill, will travel to Asia on Thursday,
State Department spokesman Tom Casey said.
FBI advert condemned
China expressed its outrage at a US Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) advertisement in a San Francisco newspaper that
asked readers for information on Beijing-sponsored espionage.
"The contents of the US advertisements are totally groundless,"
Qin said.
The Chinese security authorities carry out their duties
following the rule of law and would never carry out any operations
that could destabilize a foreign government, violate another
country's sovereignty and integrity or undermine its security
interests.
Qin said a few US citizens were trying to create a non-existent
Chinese threat and turn popular opinion against China.
"Such unpopular activities will get (a country) nowhere," he
said, urging the US to take effective steps to undo the negative
impact created by the incident.
Weapons' export stance
Responding to allegations that Chinese weapons were turning up
in Iraq and were being used by the Taliban, Qin reiterated China's
position on weapons' exports.
Qin said China does export weapons abroad but has always done so
in ways that would avoid bringing harm to other governments.
Furthermore, these exports abide by domestic and international
law.
He said China will stick to three principles in exporting
weapons: helping to raise the defensive capability of the
recipients, not damaging regional peace and stability, and
non-interference in the internal affairs of the recipients."
China only does military business with sovereign countries and
always ensures recipients do not pass the weapons to third parties
without express permission, Qin said.
Visit of UN Secretary-General's Special Advisor on
Myanmar
Qin announced that the UN Secretary-General's Special Advisor on
Myanmar Ibrahim Gambari visited China from July 8 to 10. Gambari
briefed Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo and Assistant Foreign
Minister Cui Tiankai on the situation in Myanmar and UN's mediation
efforts in the country.
Qin said that while China appreciates the UN's mediation work in
Myanmar, it does not believe the country's situation threatens
regional peace and security and feels that the Myanmarese people
are best-equipped to determine their own affairs.
(China Daily, Xinhua News Agency July 11,
2007)
