State Secretary Vidar Helgesen,

Delegates,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

First of all, may I, on behalf of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, extend our warm welcome to State Secretary Mr. Vidar Helgesen and the Norwegian delegation to the 8th Sino-Norwegian Roundtable on the Rule of Law and Human Rights. Many of you present today have attended the previous roundtables. I am sure that this gathering of friends, both old and new, will bring fresh insights to our discussion.

This year is of special importance to China-Norway relations. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties half a century ago, our relations have made impressive progress. H.E. President Jiang Zemin and H.M. King Harald V exchanged state visits in 1996 and 1997. Early this month, Chairman Wu Bangguo of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China made a successful visit to Norway. In October, the Chairman of Parliament and Foreign Minister of Norway will visit China respectively. Such exchange of high-level visits helps to enhance mutual understanding and build political trust between leaders of the two countries and lay a solid foundation for our cooperation across the board. Today, China has become Norway's largest trading partner in Asia. Our cooperation in S&T, environment, shipbuilding, education, sports, health and other areas keeps growing steadily in scope and depth. As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of our diplomatic relations, we feel all the more optimistic about the future cooperation between our two countries. We have every reason to take forward our relations in all dimensions for the benefit of the common interests of the two peoples.

The human rights question is a major component of China-Norway bilateral cooperation. Given the differences in our national conditions, we sometimes hold different views on human rights with each having its own merits and shortcomings in the advancement and protection of human rights. It requires us, therefore, to adhere to the principle of equality and mutual respect, and work to understand each other better through dialogues and learn from each other and improve ourselves through cooperation. China and Norway held the first roundtable on the rule of law and human rights in 1997. Time has proved that this decision was a right one. In the past seven years, we had in-depth discussions on many specific human rights issues of mutual interest to the two sides. We also went further to carry out practical projects on poverty alleviation, personnel exchanges and textbook compilation through the channel of the roundtable. Our cooperation and exchanges in the human rights field covers civil and political rights as well as economic, social and cultural rights. This format of cooperation that we advocate and have put in practice goes along with the development trend in the international human rights field and helps to foster a more mature, healthy and comprehensive bilateral relationship.

Earlier this morning, Secretary Helgesen and I had consultations on human rights and international and regional issues in a candid atmosphere. We briefed each other on the latest development each of us has seen in the human rights field. The most important progress made by the Chinese side is the decision made by the Second Session of the 10th NPC of China last March to write, for the first time, into China's Constitution, "The State respects and preserves human rights". That was a decision of far-reaching significance that bears on the overall situation. It spoke of the solemn commitment of the new Chinese leadership to human rights, and further identified human rights as occupying a priority position in China's national development strategy. The Chinese legislature is now working to establish and improve relevant laws and regulations on the basis of this new constitutional article. Against this backdrop, re-education through labour, a question frequently discussed in the Sino-Norwegian roundtable, has been included in the legislative plan of the 10th NPC. What it implies is forthcoming significant reform of the forty-year old re-education through labour practice in China. Some of the Chinese delegates present today are directly involved in the process. I'm sure they will contribute what they learn in the roundtable to the new legislation.

Realization of running the country by law and adequate protection of human rights is a long process. China is a developing country. While it takes time before many of its old and deep-seated problems are resolved, new problems and new challenges keep cropping up in China's reform. Guided by the philosophy of  "putting people first", the Chinese Government will carry out more active exchanges and cooperation on human rights, draw on the fine experiences from other countries, Norway included, and do all it can to promote and protect all human rights of the Chinese people. Secretary Helgesen made reference to Norway's National Action Plan on Human Rights last year. Now we are looking forward to hearing your experiences in the implementation of the plan.

The current roundtable will follow the three topics of last year, namely, workers' rights, prisoners' rights and detainees' rights. How to promote and protect these important human rights is a challenge facing many countries, including China and Norway. We hope to find the best way of promoting and protecting these rights through focused, in-depth and continuous discussions together.

We both take an interest in making this roundtable more efficient and more productive. The two sides exchanged ideas initially in this regard in April, when a Norwegian delegation came to China in preparation for the 8th roundtable. The current meeting will discuss future cooperation projects. The Chinese side is positive on having technical cooperation projects within the framework of the roundtable. We may, after thorough consultations, choose the most pressing issues and conduct specific cooperation in such areas as personnel training and capacity building while accommodating the needs of the targeted beneficiaries. I hope that in so doing, we will make the roundtable more substantive and more fruitful.

In conclusion, I wish the 8th Sino-Norwegian Roundtable on the Rule of Law and Human Rights a full success.

Thank you.