US Secretary of State Colin Powell, who visited China on October 24 and 25, held a press conference in Beijing on Monday afternoon after meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao and other senior Chinese leaders. In less than 20 minutes Powell answered six questions concerning China-US relations, nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula, human rights, Taiwan question and the US visa application.

Powell expresses condolences on Chinese victims of terrorism

Powell especially offered his condolences to family members of the Chinese engineer killed in the hostage taking in Pakistan and Chinese citizens died in the recent shooting in Afghanistan. Terrorism is a problem facing the world, he said, and bigger contribution by China to the global anti-terror fight is very much welcomed.

Powell sums up four-year US-China relations in two minutes

Powell visited China three times during his four-year office term, and this may his last China tour in the capacity of US Secretary of State since the result of US presidential election is soon to be unveiled. Answering a question from reporter, Powell gave a brief summary of US-China ties during the Bush Administration. He said that the US-China relations is all-rounded and much sophisticated that it cannot be described in one sentence.

The US-China relations saw much development during the Bush Administration, which once touched the bottom upon the jet collision incident in 2001 but soon recovered. Since then ties have been developing steadily with close cooperation and dialogues kept in economic and trade fields. We saw China's accession into the WTO, Powell said. Now, when China is exporting large numbers of goods to the United States, the two parties are also expanding US export to China. Dialogues on China's market economy status and floating interest rate are going on. During the four years, numerous delegations shuttled between the two countries, including high-ranking officials. Looking back into the four years, the sophisticated US-China ties kept advancing. We have different views on some questions, but we see consensus is building up on differences, said Powell. We believe the trend will continue into President Bush's next term. It is obvious that Powell is fully confident in Bush's winning a second term.

Restart of human rights dialogue expected

It is likely that the United States and China restart human rights dialogue in the near future, Powell revealed at the press conference, adding that he had exchanged views with Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing in formal talks. Through dialogues, communication on human rights between the two sides has been strengthened.

Powell hopes to reopen six-party talks as soon as possible

"What we agreed on today is the need for the six-party framework to continue," Powell said at the press conference "I hope that as a result of our conversations today, both of us will energize the other members of the six-party framework to resolve the outstanding issues that keep us from setting a date for a meeting."

While praising China's active efforts in pushing the talks, Powell said he is confident that the Chinese are totally committed to the six-party framework. "We reaffirmed our commitment today to the six-party talks and hope the next round will be held in the recent future," he said.

Powell reaffirms one-China policy

"I reiterated that our (the United States) policy was based on one China, three communiqués," Powell said, adding that he believes the Taiwan question is the most important and most sensitive issue in US-China relations. He also confirmed that US weapon sales to Taiwan is a topic discussed this time.

China has always urged the United States to abide by its commitments on the Taiwan issue including one-China policy and opposition to "Taiwan independence," which has been reaffirmed time and again by US leaders and administrations.

Powell expects number of Chinese students in US to rise soon

Asked to comment on the declining of Chinese students going to the United States to study due to stricter visa policy, Powell seemingly could hardly wait to answer. We encourage students all over the world to come to the United States for study, he said. After the "September 11" incident, the United States made adjustment on its visa policy in an effort to have a clearer understanding of applicants' identity and purpose, the visa procedures thus much slowed down. Since last year, every effort has been made to simplify application procedures, and it is in the US interest that foreign friends come to enjoy our cultural facilities and tourism resources. We hope the United States is viewed as an open country and we hope still more that the number of Chinese students will soon rise, Powell said at last.

(People's Daily October 27, 2004)