Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue described Russia's allowing the Dalai Lama to visit the country as "incomprehensible," and said that China would hope that Russia will strictly follow principles on the Tibet issue enshrined in the agreements between the two countries.

 

"The Dalai Lama is a politician in exile disguised as a religious figure, and engages in separatist activities against China," she said at the ministry's regular Tuesday press conference.

 

China opposes any country with which it has diplomatic relations allowing the Dalai Lama to visit it in any name or form, she added.

 

According to an Interfax News Agency report, the Dalai Lama arrived in Elista, capital of south Russia's Kalmykia Republic, on Monday to begin his visit to Russia.

 

Turning to the nuclear standoff on the Korean Peninsula, Zhang said the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will adhere to the goal of a nuclear weapons-free peninsula and still wants to settle the issue through the six-party talks.

 

Ning Fukui, China's ambassador on Korean Peninsula affairs, visited the DPRK last week, said Zhang. Ning was told that the DPRK hopes that the new round of six-party talks will make substantive progress.

 

Ning was in the DPRK from November 24 to 26. He met with Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan and Deputy Director of American Affairs for the Foreign Ministry Ri Gun on promoting the six-party talks.

 

The DPRK representatives said that their country is willing to work toward resuming the talks.

 

Zhang said that the DPRK wants to clarify the policy of the new US government toward it before discussing a timetable.

 

It is hoped that the decision by the New York-based Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization on November 26 to suspend for a year the plan to build a light water reactor in the DPRK will not affect the six-party talks.

 

China is continuing to promote the six-party talks process and hopes that all parties demonstrate sincerity and flexibility so that a new round of talks may open soon, Zhang said.

 

Premier Wen Jiabao has returned to Beijing after his official visit to Laos. Wen also attended the sixth leaders' meeting of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, the eighth leaders' meeting between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the three countries (10+3) as well as the eighth ASEAN-China (10+1) leaders' meeting, which were held in Vientiane from Sunday to Tuesday.

 

Zhang said the premier's trip was of great importance in promoting comprehensive cooperation between China and ASEAN.

 

She said Wen's visit strengthened relations with Laos and promoted the development of the partnership between China and ASEAN, advancing the process of establishing the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area.

 

Wen also held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit on Tuesday.

 

Wen told Koizumi that the crux of development of Sino-Japanese relations lies in Japanese leaders' controversial visits to the Yasukuni Shrine. He urged Japanese leaders to respect history and handle the issue properly.

 

According to the spokeswoman, Wen pointed out in the past three decades, improved relations have brought benefits to both countries.

 

Zhang said both sides should appreciate that progress and work together to promote bilateral relations.

 

After arriving in Vientiane for the ASEAN meetings, Koizumi said his country is ready to shut off Official Development Assistance (ODA) to China in the near future. He said China's remarkable economic development means that it is time for the country to graduate.

 

Zhang said Japan's financial aid to China in past years played a positive role in promoting China's economic development and that it has benefited the economies of both countries.

 

"Japan's ODA to China is not a one-way bestowal. Its loans, funds and other financial assistance are forms of Sino-Japanese economic cooperation. Such cooperation greatly boosted the economic ties and development between China and Japan in past years," she said.

 

Japan started to provide ODA to China in 1979, in the initial stage of China's reform and opening program. In the 1990s, Japan began to adjust its China assistance policy and cut the amount of ODA in 2000. 

 

Japanese Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Nariaki Nakayama reportedly said that Japanese textbooks should discard their sadomasochism image and that he is pleased to see that the textbooks have cut down on the use of words like "comfort women" and "forced labor."

 

Zhang said the essence of Japan's textbook issue is whether Japan is properly addressing its invasion history and inculcating its youths with a correct historical view.

 

She said only by learning lessons from its history and telling its young generation all the historical facts can Japan coexist peacefully with its Asian neighbors.

 

Turning to Iran, Zhang said China backs the resolution of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the country's nuclear issue and believes the issue may be resolved in an appropriate and timely way under the IAEA framework.

 

"It will help to strengthen the international nonproliferation regime and safeguard every country's right to make use of nuclear power," she said. China seeks to play a constructive international role in realizing those goals.

 

The United Nations' nuclear agency board passed the resolution on Monday after Teheran agreed to a total freeze on all uranium enrichment activities.

 

Moving on to Vanuatu, Zhang said the country has reiterated that it will not have official links with Taiwan.

 

"The Council of Ministers of Vanuatu resolved on November 10 and 18 to annul the communiqué signed in Taipei on November 3 on Vanuatu-Taiwan ties," Zhang said.

 

The Vanuatu government reiterated the country's adherence to UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 as well as the one-China policy included in the 1982 communiqué on establishing diplomatic relations between Vanuatu and the People's Republic of China, said Zhang.

 

China hopes that Vanuatu abides by the communiqué and honors its commitment on the Taiwan issue, Zhang said. 

 

In another development, Zhang said China welcomes the Ethiopian government's recent proposal to resolve the border dispute with Eritrea. China has long supported dialogue between the two countries on the basis of Algiers Agreements and peaceful resolution of the border dispute.

 

China sincerely hopes the two countries will "make joint efforts, dispel differences as early as possible and restore neighborly amity," said Zhang

 

She called on the two countries to contribute to lasting peace between them and to promote stability and development in the region.

 

Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a border war between May 1998 and December 2000. As part of the 2000 truce agreement, the two countries agreed to set up an independent boundary commission. However, Ethiopia has suspended its cooperation with the boundary commission for the past two years.

 

The Ethiopian government said on November 25 that it has decided to accept the commission's decision on its border with Eritrea "in principle."

 

British Deputy Prime Minister and First Secretary of State John Prescott arrived in Beijing Tuesday evening for a five-day official visit to China.

 

During his stay in Beijing, China's top legislator Wu Bangguo and Vice Premier Huang Ju will meet with him, and State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan will discuss the establishment of a task force on bilateral relations.

 

They will explore ways to cooperate in major fields agreed by the two countries during Premier Wen's visit to Britain in May, said the spokeswoman.

 

At that time, the two countries issued a joint statement in which they agreed to forge a comprehensive strategic partnership and set up an annual meeting mechanism between leaders, Zhang said.

 

The two countries will also enhance cooperation in such fields as trade, investment, finance, energy, technology, education, culture and environmental protection, she said.

 

This is Prescott's seventh visit to China. He is also scheduled to visit Shenyang and Dalian in northeast China's Liaoning Province, and Hong Kong, according to Zhang.

 

(Xinhua News Agency, China Daily and CRI.com, December 1, 2004)