On September 14, 2004, Vice Foreign Minister Zhou Wenzhong met in Beijing with visiting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian affairs James Kelly who was here for consultations with China. Zhou expressed his strong dissatisfaction with and firm opposition to the so-called resolution on "supporting freedom in Hong Kong" adopted by the U.S. House of Representatives on the previous day and urged the U.S. to stop interfering in China's internal affairs with the Hong Kong issue. Zhou reiterated China's firm stance on the Taiwan question and demanded that the U.S. side support the one-China policy with concrete deeds, abide by the three Sino-U.S. joint communiqués, oppose "Taiwan independence" and stop selling arms to Taiwan. Kelly said the U.S. attaches importance to U.S.-China relations as well as China's stance on Hong Kong and Taiwan issues. The U.S. stance of adhering to the one-China policy and supporting the Chinese government's efforts in implementing the policy of "one country, two systems" as well as the Basic Law remains unchanged.

Director-General He Yafei of the Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs and Director-General Cui Tiankai of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China held consultations with Kelly on China-U.S. relations and situations in Asia-Pacific respectively.