Chinese President Jiang Zemin and US President George W. Bush
reached consensus on many important issues and achieved positive
results in many areas during their formal talks at the Great Hall
of the People Thursday, President Jiang told a joint press
conference with President Bush at the Great Hall of the People on
the conclusion of their talks in Beijing.
For his part, President Bush called the talks with Chinese
President Jiang Zemin "very candid and positive," and he invited
President Jiang to the United States before attending Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum meetings in Mexico in October
this year.
In
their talks, the two Presidents reviewed 30 years of Sino-US
relations and held in-depth discussions on bilateral relations and
the current international situation.
Chinese President Jiang said that China and the United States have
different conditions and that the existence of some differences is
normal. But as long as both sides adhere to the spirit of mutual
respect, equality, and seeking common ground while reserving
differences, the two sides could continuously reduce differences,
have consensus on a broader range of issues and promote cooperation
between the two countries.
President Jiang also said that the two sides hold the common view
that -- faced with the current complicated and constantly changing
international situation and given the important influence of the
countries in the world -- China and the United States should
reinforce their dialogues and cooperation at different levels and
between different departments, appropriately handle differences and
jointly promote the development of Sino-US constructive cooperation
relations so as to increase mutual understanding and mutual
trust.
President Jiang said that China and the US will convene three joint
meetings on economy, trade, and science and technology respectively
within this year. The two sides agreed to actively carry out
exchanges and cooperation in economics and trade, energy, science
and technology, environmental protection, prevention and treatment
of AIDS, law enforcement and other fields, and hold strategic
dialogues on regional economic and financial issues.
In
terms of the international anti-terror campaign, Chinese President
Jiang and US President Bush agreed to step up consultations and
cooperation in this regard on a two-way and mutually beneficial
basis, and reinforce medium- and long-term mechanisms for
anti-terror exchanges and cooperation between the two
countries.
As
for Taiwan Issue, Chinese President Jiang stressed that
appropriately handling the Taiwan question is the key to ensuring a
steady development of Sino-US relations. During his formal talks
with US President Bush, President Jiang explained to Bush the
Chinese government's basic position of "peaceful reunification; one
country, two systems" regarding the settlement of the Taiwan
question. US President Bush stressed that the US side will adhere
to the One China policy and observe the three Sino-US joint
communiques.
(Xinhua News
Agency February 21, 2002)