China yesterday repeated its demand that the United States heed the
opinions of other countries and exercise prudence on missile
defence issues.
"It is of crucial importance to maintain the international
disarmament control regime and global strategic balance and
stability," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue told a routine
press conference yesterday. "China is worried about the negative
impact of the US retreating from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM)
treaty."
News reports said that US President George W. Bush told
congressional leaders on Wednesday the US plans to withdraw from
the 1972 ABM treaty.
Bush declared US withdrawal from the ABM treaty yesterday.
China opposes Bush's proposal to build a missile defence system and
advocates holding on to the current global strategic balance
through dialogue in order not to harm the international disarmament
control effort, she added.
China also condemned the latest attacks on Wednesday in the Middle
East, said Zhang, referring to the latest tit-for-tat fighting
between Israel and Palestine.
"We urge the two sides to calmly deal with the crisis, immediately
stop retaliation and counter-retaliation, and resolve the disputes
through negotiations," Zhang said.
An
attack near a Jewish settlement on Wednesday in the West Bank
resulted in more than 15 casualties. Israeli forces then carried
out a retaliatory attack on the Palestinian-controlled West
Bank.
The international community should adopt urgent actions to curb the
deterioration of the situation there, Zhang said.
On
the Afghan issue, the spokeswoman said a working team dispatched by
the Foreign Ministry departs from Beijing today to inspect the
Chinese Embassy in Kabul and meet officials from the Afghan interim
government.
The duration of the group's stay in Afghanistan will depend on
practical demand, she noted. China closed its Afghan embassy in
1993 for security reasons.
China will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to
Afghanistan and play a role in the post-war reconstruction, she
added
At
the request of US President George W. Bush and Russian President
Vladimir Putin, President Jiang Zemin talked with them on the
telephone about the ABM treaty last night. Jiang made clear China's
stand on the issue.
(China
Daily December 14, 2001)