On the afternoon of November 23, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue presided over a regular press conference.

Zhang: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. First of all, I'd like to make a statement.

At the invitation of Vice Premier Huang Ju, Deputy Prime Minister and First Secretary of State John Prescott of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland will pay an official visit to China from November 30 to December 4.

Now, I'm glad to take up your question.

Q: Can China identify the countries in the European Union that support or oppose the lifting of the arms embargo against China since 1989? If the embargo is lifted, what weapons will China buy?

A: Currently EU members are holding discussions on this issue. The EU Summit and the China-EU Leadership Meeting will be held this December. China's stance for the EU's early lifting of the arms embargo against China is clear. We hope the EU will proceed from the overall interest of China-EU relations and do more to benefit the all-round development of our relations instead of setting up any obstacles. In fact, the lifting of arms embargo is a matter of political principles. The decision to lift the embargo will not result in the increase of China's arms import from the EU. We hope that the EU will make a right decision at an early date.

Q: After meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi said that he understood China's stance on his paying homage to the Yasukuni Shrine, and he believed that the Chinese side also understood Japan's stance. As for the question raised by Japanese correspondents if he will continue to pay homage the Yasukuni Shrine, he said that he won't talk about that question any more. What's your comment on it?

A: Yesterday, leaders of China and Japan met on the sideline of the APEC. We think that the meeting bears great importance for the improvement and the healthy, stable development of China-Japan relations. During the meeting, President Hu Jintao gave elaborated and clear account of China's stance on how to further the development of China-Japan relations. He said that in the development of China-Japan relations the issue of history should not and cannot be evaded. Currently the crux of the difficulties facing the China-Japan political relations is that Japanese leaders pay homage to the Yasukuni Shrine. We hope that the Japanese side proceed from the overall interest of China-Japan relations and properly handle the issue. This meeting has proven again that the Chinese Government and leaders attach great importance to the China-Japan relations. The 32 years since the normalization of the bilateral ties have seen great development in our relations. We hope that both sides will cherish the advancement of the bilateral relations and exert positive efforts to promote the stable and healthy development of the China-Japan relations.

Press Conference of MFA	HU JINTAO MEETS JPN PM

 

Q: Is there any progress for the fourth round of the Six Party Talks? President Bush said last week that China, Russia and other countries share the same point of view with the United States on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue. Does China agree with him?

A: I understand that you are very concerned about the date of the next round of the Six Party Talks. The Chinese side has been making positive efforts in various forms for the early opening of the next round of the Six Party Talks and has maintained close contacts and diplomatic consultations with all parties concerned. You can see from the news that President Hu Jintao also made in-depth exchange of views on this issue with the leaders who attended the meeting during the APEC. We will continue to keep in touch with other parties and strive to hold the next round of the Talks as early as possible.

Generally speaking, all parties share the same point of view on forging ahead the course of the Six Party Talks. All Parties, including the DPRK, said that they would continue to resolve the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula through dialogue. However, since the issue is very complicated, whether to open a new round of the Six Party Talks or a Working Group meeting in the first place, and when to hold the meetings have yet to be decided through further consultation and coordination among the six parties.