On the afternoon of June 22nd, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhang Qiyue held a regular press conference.

Zhang: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen! First of all, I would like to announce three pieces of news.

At the invitation of President Hu Jintao, President of the Republic of Argentina Nestor Carlos Kirchner will pay a state visit to China from 27 June to 2 July.

At the invitation of President Hu Jintao, President of Mongolia Natsagiyn Bagabandi will pay a state visit to China from 1 to 6 July 2004. Apart from the mainland, President Bagabandi will also visit the Macao Special Administrative Region.

On 28 June, the Commemoration Meeting of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence will be held at the Great Hall of the People. Premier Wen Jiabao will attend the meeting and deliver an important speech.

Now, I am ready to take up your questions.

Q: First question, what progress has been made in the Second Working Group Meeting of the Six-Party Talks? What work has China focused on? And what moves will China take to ensure breakthrough at this round of Six-Party Talks? Second question, the US has taken a series of anti-dumping measures against China's color TV sets and furniture. How will these measures bear on China-US relations, and how does China view this question?

Around this noon, the Second Working Group Meeting of the Six-Party Talks closed. On the basis of the First Working Group Meeting, the six parties continued to have in-depth exchange of views on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the implementation of nuclear freeze and corresponding measures, thus making necessary preparations for the third round of the talks.

All parties deemed the discussions at the Working Group Meeting helpful and constructive. With regards to the differences between them, they expressed their willingness to continue their discussion in the future talks.

The Working Group Meeting has also conducted consultations on arrangements of the Third Round of the Six-Party Talks.

China has the following positions on the settlement of the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula: to maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, to realize the denuclearization of the Peninsula and to seek peaceful settlement of the issue through dialogue. Through several rounds of talks and working group meetings, all parties have reached some consensus on the settlement of the nuclear issue on the Peninsula, started the process of peaceful settlement and embarked on discussions of substantive issues. They have set forth objectives and principles of acts and moved into a stage where mechanism works. We hope that the parties concerned show their full sincerity for cooperation and utmost flexibility in the spirit of mutual respect and equal consultation, so as to head for the final solution of relative questions step by step.

As for your second question, a couple of trade problems have recently occurred between China and the US. The US adopted anti-dumping measures against the furniture and color TV sets imported from China. China attaches great importance to sound and normal trade and economic relations with the US and hopes that the two sides can make joint efforts to further promote our bilateral trade and economic relations.

This week, US Secretary of Commerce Don Evans and Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao are visiting China. During their visit, Chinese leaders will meet with them and exchange views with them on China-US trade and commercial relations. China maintains that differences and disputes should be resolved through dialogue and negotiation instead of frequent and arbitrary use of anti-dumping measures on the basis of protectionist positions, which are not conducive to sound and smooth development of bilateral trade and economic relations.

Q: Now, many reports allege that no excessive expectations should be placed on the Third Round of the Six-Party Talks. I would like to know what concrete measures China have taken so far to push forward the third round of talks and what headway has been made?

A: The nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula is very complicated. Differences remain quite big on how to resolve this issue though the parties concerned have reached very important consensus. Regarding this round of talks, all parties should have full estimation of the difficulties and problems waiting ahead. During the working group meeting held on yesterday and today, the fact that all parties made serious and in-depth discussions on such important questions as the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, implementation of nuclear freeze and corresponding measures has shown the willingness of all parties to seek solution through negotiation. We hope that this spirit of cooperation can last and all parties demonstrate their utmost flexibility. This working group meeting has made necessary preparations for the third round of talks. From this afternoon to tomorrow, the delegations will conduct bilateral discussions and engagement. We hope that through consultation, the parties concerned can further expand their common ground, narrow differences and make certain progress on the solution of the relative questions.

Q: Just now, you said the Six-Party Talks have embarked on the track of mechanism. Can you give further explanations on "mechanism"? What flexible attitude does China expect to see on the US and DPRK side? Does China believe that the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula will not be resolved before the US election? Will there be the next round of talks or working group meeting before the election? What's China's position on the question of HEU?

A: I understand very much your close interest in the questions on the Six-Party Talks, and I am glad to answer these questions so as to remove any misgiving.

An important achievement scored at the Second Round of the Six-Party Talks is the decision on establishing a working group, which is tasked to have consultations on substantive questions and make preparations for the Six-Party Talks. The establishment of the working groups symbolized that the Six-Party Talks have embarked on the track of mechanism.

China calls for utmost flexibility of all parties concerned. As to which aspects require greater flexibility of the US and the DPRK, it is to be discussed at the Third Round of the Six-Party Talks, and I cannot make any specific comments so far.

It is not advisable to make any speculation on whether the next round of Six-Party Talks will be held within this year. This question will be discussed at the third round of talks. The six parties will hold this round of talks on schedule by the end of June as agreed upon at the second round of talks. This fact in itself shows that all parties hope to seek solutions of the questions through political dialogue and negotiation.

With regards to the question of HEU, I think it will be touched upon at the third round of talks.

Q: Is China willing to extend assistance in rescuing the hostage from the ROK in Iraq?

We are concerned and worried about the abduction of the ROK citizen in Iraq and hope this issue can be resolved soon. As a friendly neighbor of the ROK, China is much willing to extend assistance as possible.

Q: The six parties did not reach agreement on the final document at last round of Six-Party Talks. Does China plan to propose a final document at this round of talks?

A: An important achievement at last round of talks is the issuance of the first document, that is, the Chairman's Statement, which is the first written document since the launch of the Six-Party Talks. It is quite a progress to write down the positions of and consensus among the six parties. China is ready to make its own efforts to promote further in-depth discussions on relative issues and new progress at the Six-Party Talks. But it is to early to predict now whether there will be written documents at this round of talks.

Q: Which countries will hold bilateral discussions this afternoon? Which countries have conducted bilateral discussions with China?

A: I can brief you on the bilateral activities of the Chinese delegation. Around this noon, Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Head of Chinese Delegation, conducted consultation with the Russian delegation. This afternoon, China will have bilateral consultations with the ROK's and DPRK's delegations.

Q: It is reported that the foreign ministers of China, Japan and the ROK discussed the issue of energy cooperation at the Third ACD Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Qingdao. What comment do you have on this?

A: An hour ago, the Third ACD Foreign Ministers' Meeting just closed. Two important documents were issued: the Asia Cooperation Declaration and the Qingdao Initiative. The Asia Cooperation Declaration has fixed the focus and key aspects for the ACD members to further strengthen their cooperation. In the Qingdao Initiative, the parties concerned expressed their willingness to conduct energy cooperation. In addition, the ACD meeting affiliated Mongolia, the UAE and Iran and decided that Pakistan shall host the fourth meeting and Qatar the fifth. We can tell from all this that the parties concerned have very strong desire to promote the ACD process and step up cooperation among Asian countries. This meeting has yielded positive results.

Apart from the ACD Foreign Ministers' Meeting, the parties concerned held the China-ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Informal Meeting and the meeting of the Three Party Committee of China, Japan and the ROK. The Three Party Committee was set up in line with the Joint Declaration on the Promotion of Tripartite Cooperation among China, Japan and the ROK issued by leaders of the three countries last October. The Three Party Committee decided to hold a meeting each year to plan and coordinate cooperation among the three countries in various fields.

Q: Will there be briefings on daily basis during the Six-Party Talks? Please tell us the major activities on the itinerary of Syrian president's visit to China?

A: As for your first question, we will try our best to hold daily briefings on the development of the talks.

As for your second question, President Bashar arrived in Beijing last night. It is the first and a very important visit of a Syrian head of state to China. This afternoon, President Hu Jintao will hold talks with President Bashar. The two sides will sign agreements on trade, economy, water conservancy, agriculture, public health and other fields. On top of that, Chairman of NPC Standing Committee Wu Bangguo and Premier Wen Jiabao will also meet with President Bashar. The relative departments and agencies will hold talks with their counterparts. To enhance the two-way trade and economic ties, China and Syria will hold the second meeting of their Joint Council on Trade and Economy. Other activities will also be held during President Bashar's visit, including a round-table discussion between entrepreneurs from China and Syria, a round-table discussion for tourism businesses, the Syrian Culture's Week, a comprehensive art exhibition, etc. I believe President Bashar's visit to China will promote the all-round development of our bilateral relations.

If there are no further questions, I would like to inform you that the China Association for the Protection and Development of Tibetan Culture will hold an opening ceremony for the comprehensive exhibition on the protection and development of Tibetan culture at the National Museum this afternoon. Friends from the press are welcome to visit the exhibition and attend the opening ceremony. Thank you!