On January 8, 2009, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Qin Gang held a regular press conference and answered questions on China-US relations, conflicts between Palestine and Israel, and etc.

Qin Gang: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I have an announcement to start with.

At the invitation of the Philippine Government, 100 Chinese high school students from the quake-affected area of Wenchuan, Sichuan Province will visit the country from January 11 to 17.

China and the Philippines enjoy traditional friendly relationship. Bilateral relations have developed steadily since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1975. The invitation mentioned above fully demonstrates the friendship of the Philippine Government and people to the Chinese people. We express our appreciation and gratitude. This visit will definitely enhance the mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples, especially that among young people, enrich the two countries' friendly cooperation and promote in-depth development of bilateral relations.

Now the floor is open.

Q: According to Thai officials, China will not be able to attend East Asia leaders' meetings if they were to be held from February 27 to March 1. Does China have any other dates in favor? The second question is, will Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi or other officials visit Africa early this year as they did last year? If so, could you tell us the schedule? The last question is, which Chinese officials will attend US President Obama's inauguration ceremony on January 20?

A: China always places great importance to its friendly cooperation with ASEAN countries and the rest in the Asia-Pacific region. As for the East Asia leaders' meetings to be held in Thailand,China is keeping communication and coordination with Thailand in order to fix a timeframe convenient to both sides.

It's a good tradition that Chinese Foreign Minister starts his foreign trip with Africa at the beginning of every year. There's no exception this year. FM Yang Jiechi will visit several African countries within this month. Relevant arrangement is still under consultation. Information will be released shortly.

As for which Chinese officials will attend President Obama's inauguration ceremony, I have no confirmed information at the moment.

Q: Stephen Hadley, Assistant to the US President for National Security Affairs said yesterday that American intelligence officials have growing concerns on North Korea's secret uranium enrichment. Does China know anything about this?

A: China also hopes to see the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and enduring peace, stability and harmony in Northeast Asia. It is based on this purpose that China works with relevant parties to promote the Six-Party Talks. China shares the same goal with other parties concerned on the denuclearization of the Peninsula and is willing to strengthen communication and cooperation with other parties. The six parties need to keep in mind the ultimate goal, overcome current difficulties, earnestly fulfill their respective commitments, complete the second-phase task and move on to the next stage.

Q: About the remarks by Mr. Liu Guijin yesterday. The Chinese Government's special representative on the Darfur issue said that China hoped the ICC to defer the prosecution against Sudanese President Bashir. Would you explain? Will China consider a proposal on this at the UN Security Council?

A: Ambassador Liu Guijin is now visiting Sudan after his Russian trip. Ethiopia will be his next stop. The purpose is to communicate and exchange views with relevant parties on the Darfur issue, especially the ICC prosecution against President Bashir. I'll have to double-check Ambassador Liu's remarks you quoted just now. I'd like to emphasize, realization of judicial justice in Darfur entails enduring peace and stability in the region. The priority is to properly resolve the Darfur issue. We uphold that the actions taken by the ICC should be beneficial to the stability in Sudan and proper settlement of the Darfur issue. This is the basis on which we will decide our further position and measures.

Q: Mr. Negroponte said that the China-US relationship has never been better. Does China endorse his comment? Also, as Mr. Obama is soon to swear in as the next President of the US, what do you think will be the biggest pending issue for the bilateral relations? And how do you expect the Obama Administration to solve the issue?

A: The past three decades have witnessed remarkable improvement in the China-US relations. Thirty years ago, the two countries had no contact. They were even antagonistic to each other. Today, the two countries share broad common interest, with cooperation of mutual benefit reaching an unprecedentedly high level. Close contact has been maintained between state leaders and at other levels. In 1972, bilateral trade volume was only a little more than two billion US dollars. In 2007, the figure exceeded 300 billion US dollars, which is over 120 times that of 30 years ago. In 1972, there were few people-to-people exchanges, today, there are annually about two million mutual visits, that is, over 5000 visits per day. Yesterday, Mr. Negroponte cited statistics from the US Embassy in China, saying that last year alone, the US Embassy in China issued over 500,000 visas to Chinese citizens leaving for the US.

The two countries have clear strategic positioning for bilateral ties. China and the US are not only stakeholders, but more importantly, constructive partners. The two countries have close cooperation in broad range of areas, covering not only bilateral issues but also international and regional issues.

These facts and figures should lead you to the right conclusion. The remarkable achievements made in the past three decades deserve to be cherished, therefore precious experience could be learned. As two countries of major impact in the world, China and the US share broad and major common interests, thus must strengthen dialogue, communication and cooperation. The two countries differ in national conditions, political system and cultural values, and do not always see eye to eye on some issues. But these differences are less important in comparison with the shared interests and their responsibility of safeguarding world peace, stability and development. The smooth development of China-US relations entails mutual respect, equality, mutual benefit, mutual accommodation of each other's major interest and concern and proper settlement of sensitive issues and relevant disputes. I believe, so long as we observe these principles from strategic and long-term perspective, the China-US relations will maintain healthy and stable development. This is not only in the fundamental interest of two countries and two peoples, but also conducive to world peace, stability and development. In their recent phone conversation, President Hu Jintao and President-elect Obama also expressed this view.

Q: Does China have any new position on the Palestine-Israel conflict? Will China consider sending relevant officials to the region or providing more humanitarian assistance?

A: We are very concerned about the escalation of conflict between Palestine and Israel and the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza. The Chinese public, following the situation from media, are also very worried and anxious.

It's imperative to immediately cease fire, stop military actions and armed conflicts so as to relieve the humanitarian situation and tension in Gaza and allow in international assistance, including essential supplies and rescue workers. This is the only way to create conditions for political solution through dialogue. The international community should step up meditative efforts, meanwhile, relevant parties should listen to the international aspiration and appeal, take concrete actions to cease fire immediately. The Chinese Government is ready to work with the international community and continue to make positive efforts.

China welcomes the Egyptian truce proposal that deserves international attention. We hope the international effort could put an end to the conflict, resume peaceful talks and properly settle the dispute between Palestine and Israel, so that the peace process in the Middle East could continue to move ahead.

Q: The ninth China-Japan Strategic Dialogue is to be held in Japan tomorrow. What topics will be discussed?

A: The ninth China-Japan Strategic Dialogue will be held in Japan. We hope through this dialogue, the two countries could have full and in-depth exchange of views on bilateral relations as well as international and regional issues of common interest, enhance mutual understanding and political mutual trust, and promote the bilateral relations. It is in this spirit that China will attend the meeting, and work with Japan to achieve positive results.

If there are no more questions, thanks for coming. See you!