Chinese Foreign Minister said on Friday that China would continue to provide support for Afghan reconstruction work and looked forward to “a peaceful, stable and independent” Afghanistan.

Yang Jiechi said in his first speech at the Munich Security Conference that “Afghanistan has made headway in its peace and reconstruction endeavor, but it still faces daunting challenges, including the resurgence of terrorism, rampant drug trafficking and slow progress in reconstruction.”

The arduous efforts of the Afghan people and the international efforts are needed to realize full stability in the war-ravaged country, he said.

He affirmed that China would “continue to take an active part in Afghanistan’s reconstruction process, and work with the rest of the international community for the early realization of stability and development there.”

The Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said Friday that there was now new opportunity to restart the six-party talks that aims to resolve the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue through dialogue and diplomacy.

Yang said in his first speech at the Munich Security Conference that “tension surrounding this issue has recently eased to a certain extent, and there is now a new opportunity to restart the six-party talks and push forward the denuclearization process,” he said.

“We must find a peaceful solution to this issue through dialogue and consultation and by political and diplomatic means. This is the only right choice, a choice which serves the common interests of all parties,” he said.

He said that “China will work tirelessly with other parties concerned and the international community as a whole for the denuclearization of the peninsula, the normalization of relations between relevant countries and the achievement of enduring peace and stability in Northeast Asia.”

Source:Xinhua

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said Friday that as the world faces traditional and non- traditional security threats nowadays, countries should seek solutions with “a cooperative spirit.”

Yang said in his first speech at the Munich Security Conference that the world has witnessed many changes in the past decade and the destinies of all countries have never been so closely linked before.

“As multipolarity and globalization gather momentum, the call for peace, development and cooperation, which represent the trend of the times, has become stronger than ever ..multilateralism and democracy in international relations have won even greater popular support,” he said.

However, the world peace and development is still severely threatened, while climate change, food security, energy security, public health security and other global issues have become more acute and non-traditional security threats, including terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and transnational crimes persist, he said.

He urged all countries to strengthen cooperation to tackle the grave challenges to the world security and foster a security outlook featuring “mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and coordination, respect each other’s security interests and pursue security for all.”

During his much-anticipated speech, he also elaborated on Chinese foreign policies, saying while focusing on its own development, China is undertaking more and more international responsibilities.

He said China have made tremendous achievements in the past 30 years due to the policy of reform and opening up, but many difficulties still lie ahead.

“We in China are most keenly aware of our weakness and challenges. China’s per capita GDP has just exceeded 3,000 U.S. dollars, ranking 104th in the world,” he said, adding in order to “enable the 1.3 billion people to live a comfortable life, we must focus all our time and energy on development.”

He asserted that “a more developed China is an opportunity rather than a threat to the world. ‘Harmony without sameness’ has been a much cherished value of the Chinese people since ancient times.”

A more developed China will undertake more and more international responsibilities commensurate with its strength and status to expand “common interests, share responsibilities and seek win-win outcomes,” he said.

China has played an active role in the international cooperation on the financial crisis, promoted the establishment of an Asian foreign exchange reserves pool, cancelled the debts of 49 heavily indebted poor countries, and actively taken part in international peacekeeping missions, he said.

A trilateral meeting among three Northeast Asian countries is slated for Tuesday in Seoul as the three countries seek to launch a joint research on a free trade pact, Seoul’s trade ministry said Monday.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the three Northeastern countries are set to discuss on terms of reference on the joint research, as well as the schedule for holding next rounds of dialogue, the ministry said.

China, South Korea, and Japan decided at their summit talks on Oct. 10, 2009 to terminate private studies on the issue and to push for a joint research at an administrative level.

In addition, the ministry said, the three nations as a follow- up measure agreed to launch the research in the first half of 2010 and to hold a preliminary meeting in Seoul.

The private studies on the trilateral free trade pact started in 2003 when the first research was conducted on the macroeconomic impact of the deal, according to the ministry.

Northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province plan to build a road bridge linking the Fuyuan county with Heixiazi Island on the China-Russia border, Gao Zhijie, director of the provincial transport department, said Monday.

Gao said no construction schedule was available as the plan was still awaiting approval by the State Council, but construction should begin this year.

The island is at the confluence of the Heilong and the Wusuli rivers on China’s border with Russia’s far east.

On Oct. 14, 2008, China and Russia unveiled the boundary markers for the eastern section of China-Russia border.

The ceremony also confirmed that the additional protocol between China and Russia on the eastern section of the China-Russia boundary as well as its appendix had officially taken effect.

Under the agreement, half of Heixiazi island close to Fuyuan county belongs to China. The other half belongs to Russia.

The island, which was seized in 1929 by troops of the former Soviet Union during a border skirmish, is about 327 square km and largely uninhabited.

The county government is considering proposals to turn the island into a tourist destination and a free trade zone, but no plans have yet been confirmed.

China grants the Comoros a financial assistance worth 30 million yuan (4.3 million U. S. dollars) under an agreement signed on Sunday evening during a visit by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun to Moroni, capital of the Indian Ocean island nation.

According to the visiting Chinese diplomat, the Comoros will come up with a list of priority projects to benefit from the funding.

Upon his arrival on Sunday morning, Zhai was received by President Ahmed Abdallah Sambi, Speaker of the National Assembly Bourhane Hamidou and Minister for External Relations Ahmed Ben Said Jaffar.

In their talks, Zhai and Jaffar discussed the cooperation between the two countries, especially cultural exchanges ranging from an increase of Chinese scholarships to the assistance to the young Comoros University.

Accompanied by Chinese Ambassador to the Comoros Tao Weiguang, the Chinese vice minister paid a courtesy call to Speaker Hamidou. In their talks, Zhai urged continued support from the Comoros to the one-China policy.

Being the only foreign rescue team to run medical-aid stations in quake-ravaged Haiti, Chinese rescuers are giving quake victims what they desperately need: medical assistance, team members told Xinhua via phone Saturday.

The China International Search and Rescue Team, arriving in Port-au-Prince at 2 a.m. local time on Jan. 14, opened the first medical assistance station at 8 p.m. the next day, said captain Hou Shike.

The station had been treating patients pulled out of debris and provided medical support to medical and security personnel, he said.

China’s second station in the refugee camp near the office building of Haitian prime minister had treated and some 120 people, while giving hygiene tips and conducting epidemic prevention work in the camp.

“To prevent epidemics, we had sterilized an area of 300 square meters in the refugee camp crammed with thousands of quake victims,” Hou said.

“Confronted with severe wound infection, numerous refugees are in urgent need of professional medical treatment,” said Fan Haojun, deputy captain of the team.

He said although local volunteers had done their best to offer basic treatment, but because of the lack of wound cleansing, infections among some of the wounded had deteriorated that even small operations costed more time and medicines than usual, said Fan.

The Chinese rescue team of more than 60 people left Beijing for the Caribbean island Wednesday night along with 10 tonnes of food, equipment and medicines.

The massive quake also left eight Chinese police officers, serving in China’s peacekeeping forces, buried. The body of one missing police officer had been found, said China’s public security ministry late Saturday night.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on Saturday met separately with some of his Latin American counterparts on the sidelines of the 4th foreign ministers’ meeting of the Forum for an East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC).

In talks with Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Tiana, the two sides are of one mind that through joint efforts, China-Argentina strategic partnership has witnessed in-depth development over the past years.

They agreed that the two nations need to proceed from a long-term perspective, strengthen high-level exchanges, advance practical cooperation in areas of finance, energy, infrastructure construction, and promote contacts and coordination on such issues as climate change and the reform of international financial system in a bid to elevate bilateral ties to a new level.

Yang also discussed bilateral cooperative relations and issues of common concern with Mexican Foreign Secretary Paricia Espinosa Cantellano, Costa Rican Foreign Minister Bruno Stagno Ugarte and Colombian Foreign Minister Jaime Bermudez Merizalde.

The Chinese foreign minister arrived Friday to attend the 4th FEALAC foreign ministers’ meeting starting Saturday.

The two-day meeting will discuss such issues as environment and sustainable development, economic and financial crisis, and social inclusion such as reducing disparities.

Initiated in 1999, the forum is an international framework consisting of 34 countries including 16 countries in Asia and 18 in Latin America, with the purpose of strengthening cooperative relations in a wide variety of areas between Asia and Latin America.

China and Vietnam, two traditional friends, are going to see new developments in all-round cooperation in 2010, said Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Sun Guoxiang in an recent interview with Xinhua.

China and Vietnam are to embrace the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations on Jan. 18. The two countries have decided to hold various kinds of activities throughout the year to celebrate the six-decade diplomatic ties.

Early in the middle of last century, China and Vietnam forged the close bond like “comrades and brothers”, said Sun.

The two sides have seen continuous development of traditional friendship and comprehensive cooperation over the past years under the care and guidance of leaders of the two countries, Sun said.

In 2008, China and Vietnam decided to establish comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, he said.

Last year, despite the global financial crisis, bilateral trade went up to exceed 20 billion U.S. dollars, said Sun. China has become Vietnam’s largest trading partner for six consecutive years.

Investment of Chinese companies to Vietnam has totaled nearly three billion U.S. dollars so far, said Sun. Economic and trade cooperation between China and Vietnam is becoming deeper and wider.

Sun said the year of 2010 is decided by leaders of the two countries to be China-Vietnam’s Year of Friendship. The two sides will hold activities in economic and trade, education, culture, tourism and other fields to strengthen ties and cooperation.

These activities are expected to further enhance mutual understanding and political trust to enrich and bilateral comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, said Sun.

The activities will also be good opportunities to educate young peoples of the two countries about traditional friendship, laying a good foundation for the future development of bilateral relations.

In the beginning of this year, Vietnam assumed the chairmanship of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Sun said China will provide support to Vietnam as the new chairman and he believed cooperation between China and ASEAN will be further enhanced during this year.

China and ASEAN established Free Trade Area in the beginning of this year, with expected new developments in the fields like finance, infrastructure, agriculture and rural areas.

Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo will pay an official visit to Indonesia and Brunei from Jan. 21 to 26, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said Thursday.

Dai is visiting at the invitation of Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Political, Law and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto and the Brunei government, Jiang said at a regular press conference.