On the evening of December 19, 2006, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo hosted a banquet for the heads of delegations to the second phase of the fifth round of six-party talks in Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.

Dai expressed welcome for the heads of delegations to attend this round of six-party talks in Beijing.  It is of great significance for the parties, after 13 months, to reaffirm the pledges made in the joint statement issued during the fourth round of six-party talks in September last year, discuss the ways and procedures to implement the statement and push forward the peace process of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, Dai added.

 "The talks are aimed to expand consensus, increase understanding, narrow differences and remove estrangement through dialogue and consultations," said Dai. In the past two days, all parties have held candid and in-depth exchanges of views on implementing the joint statement in the form of plenary meeting, chief negotiators' meeting and one-on-one contacts, and elaborated their respective positions with mutual understanding increased and negotiations continuously deepened, said Dai.

Dai underlined complexity of the nuclear issue, saying "it is natural that some fluctuations and difficulties come up" in the nuclear disarmament talks. Dai urged the parties concerned to show sincerity and make utmost efforts to take pragmatic steps in realizing denuclearization on Korean Peninsula and normalization of bilateral relations, so as to fulfill the common objectives of all parties at an early date.