At the invitation of the Governments of the Republic of South Africa, the Republic of Zimbabwe and the United Republic of Tanzania, State Councillor Chen Zhili will head a Chinese governmental delegation to the three countries from 11 to 20 July and attend the opening ceremony of the"Voyage of Chinese Culture to Africa"in South Africa.

At the invitation of Minister of Foreign Affairs Li Zhaoxing, Federal Vice-Chancellor and Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany Joschka Fischer will pay an official visit to China from 14 to 16 July 2004.

 

Q: It's reported that the Foreign Ministry will set up a new department in charge of external security affairs which will start to operate this month. Please confirm and brief us on the responsibilities of it?

 

A: To meet the needs of the changing international situation and external work, Foreign Ministry adjusted some of its departments lately. Two major adjustments are, one, the Department of West European Affairs has been changed to the Department of European Affairs. Given the expansion of the EU, the former Department was renamed with its responsibilities expanded. Two, the Department of External Security Affairs is to be set up. Non-traditional security factors are mounting in the current international arena. The new department is to study and tackle with the changing new situation. It's yet to operate in a full-fledged way and its responsibilities are yet to be further defined, therefore I am unable to give you more specific information.

 

Q: It is reported that in a news program of Asahi TV on July 2^nd, Prime Minister Koizumi reaffirmed that he would pay annual homage to the Yasukuni Shrine and asserted it to be ludicrous that his visit to China was hampered by his homage to the Shrine. What comment does China have on this?

 

A: Japanese class A war criminals, who have committed heinous crime against China and other close Asian neighbors, are enshrined in the Yasukuni. China is firmly opposed to homage paid by Japanese leaders to the Yasukuni Shrine. We express our dissatisfaction and regret about the provocative remarks continuously made by Japanese leaders in defiance of the just appeal of the victim peoples.

Correct understanding and treatment of the past history in that period bear on the political foundation of China-Japan relations and stand as an important condition for Japan to genuinely win trust from Asia and the international community. We hope that Japanese leaders honor their commitment to remorse the history of invasion and refrain from any further moves that may hurt the feelings of the people in the victim countries. 

 

Q: Ministers of the visiting GCC delegation noted to the press that the development of the relationship with China is of vital importance to GCC members. How important does China think of its talks with GCC to strike a free trade agreement, especially in the field of gas and oil?

 

A: An important delegation of GCC members, including finance and economic Ministers of Kuwait, United Emirates of Arab, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Omen, Qatar and the GCC Secretary General, is here for a visit. This noon, State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan met with the delegation and Premier Wen Jiabao will also be meeting with them this afternoon.

China's relationship with GCC has been developing soundly. Starting from 1990, Chinese Foreign Ministers met with the group of GCC Foreign Ministers and Secretary General each year during the UN General Assembly session. The political and economic consultation mechanism between the two was established in 1996 within which several rounds of political consultations were held.

During the visit this time, Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing held political consultation with GCC Secretary General and had in-depth exchange of views with him on hot spot issues and international issues of common interest. Besides, finance and economic ministers also had in-depth consultation with relevant Chinese authorities. The visit is yet to finish. China is very positive towards further enhancing economic and trade relationship with GCC members and the free trade agreement. Relevant authorities of both sides will have further consultation on the specifics of the agreement.

 

Q: Sources say that the US National Security Advisor Rice will be visiting China. Can you brief us on it? Will Taiwan question be discussed? What message will China convey to her on Taiwan question?

 

A: The Assistant to the US President on National Security Affairs, Rice will visit China on 8^th and 9^th this week. Views will be exchanged on bilateral ties and international issues of common interest. Taiwan question remains to be the most sensitive issue at the core of bilateral relationship. The smooth development of bilateral relationship relies on the proper settlement of the question. In other words, the adherence to the One China Policy and the principle of the three Joint Communiqués constitutes the political foundation for the healthy development of China-US relationship. Our consistent position is that we hope the US can strictly abide by the One China Policy, the three Joint Communiqués and oppose to "Taiwan's independence".

 

Q: You mentioned that State Councilor Chen Zhili will attend the opening ceremony of the "Voyage of the Chinese Culture to Africa" to be held in South Africa. Please brief us on that.

 

A: The purpose of the activity is to introduce China and the Chinese culture with a view to enhancing African people's understanding of China and further promoting the friendly relations and cooperation in culture and other fields between China and Africa. The activity is also part of the specific measures to finalize relevant documents reached on the China-Africa Cooperation Forum. According to consensus reached between Chinese and African leadership on the Forum, this year was marked as the "Africa Year". In the first half of this year, "Meet in Beijing-Art Festival" was held in Beijing, during when art troupes from 9 African countries and governmental culture delegations from 8 African countries were invited to participate. In the later half of this year, China will send singing and dance, acrobatics and martial arts troupes to 11 African nations and hold Chinese art festival in South Africa, Cameroon and Ghana. State Councilor Chen Zhili's presence in the opening ceremony of the "Voyage of Chinese Culture to Africa" in South Africa fully represents the importance the Chinese Government has attached to it as well as its sincerity and determination to further implement the cooperation document.

 

Q: Will China send any representative to attend the upcoming Third African Union Summit?

 

A: The Third Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union will be held in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, from 6 to 8 July.

Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Qiao Zonghuai will attend the meeting in the capacity of envoy of the Chinese Government and convey a congratulatory letter from Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to the Assembly. The Chinese Government attaches importance to the status and role of the African Union and will continue to strengthen friendly exchanges and cooperation with it, so as to make our own contributions to the peace and development of Africa.