During a phone conversation with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder Tuesday afternoon, Jiang reiterated that China supports further weapons inspections in Iraq.

He called for continuing the enforcement of the United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 1441.

A flurry of diplomatic activities, including high-level visits and phone calls, have taken place recently over the Iraq crisis. The Foreign Ministers of China and Russia issued a communiqué at the end of last month, stressing the importance of resolving the Iraqi issue through political and diplomatic means within the UN framework.

How to resolve the Iraqi issue will have a profound impact on the international situation and international relations in the new century, said Jiang.

A press release from the Chinese Foreign Ministry quoted Schroeder as expressing concern over the Iraqi crisis.

Germany hopes that the international community will work together to peacefully resolve the issue, Schroeder was quoted as saying.

He said that the UN weapons inspectors should be given more time, adding that Iraq should meanwhile completely destroy its weapons of mass destruction.

(China Daily March 5, 2003)