Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi answered questions from journalists at home and abroad at a press conference in Beijing on March 12. The press conference, held on the sidelines of this year's session of the National People's Congress, is an annual routine for the foreign minister. Yang's main points follow:

China-Japan relations

President Hu Jintao will visit Japan in the near future, and the two countries' diplomats are discussing the details of the itinerary. This historic visit, Hu's first trip to Japan as president, will boost relations between the two countries, said Yang.

With the exchange of high-level visits, China-Japan relations have been brought back on the right track. They are currently facing major opportunities for further development, Yang said. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Sino-Japanese Treaty of Peace and Friendship. It also is the China-Japan Friendly Exchange Year for Youth.

China hopes Hu's visit will help formulate a blueprint for the long-term development of China-Japan relations, improve the two countries' exchange mechanisms, deepen their pragmatic cooperation in various fields and substantiate their mutually beneficial strategic relations, he said.

The Chinese Government always attaches great importance to food safety and is responsible for consumers at home and abroad, Yang said. China is highly concerned about the "dumpling poisoning incident" in Japan, he said, adding that it had conducted serious and responsible investigations into the incident and released preliminary investigation results in a timely manner.

In January, 10 people fell ill in Japan after eating frozen meat dumplings produced by a food company in north China's Hebei Province. Japanese police found the pesticide methamidophos in the vomit of those poisoned and in food packages at their houses. But sample tests conducted by Chinese quality inspection authorities showed that the rest of the dumplings in the same batch and other batches made at about the same time by the Chinese company were safe.

Yang said that he believes it necessary to establish a long-term food safety cooperation mechanism between China and Japan so that they can cooperate in this field in a more timely and effective manner.

Regarding the two countries' disputes over the oil and gas fields in the East China Sea, Yang said it is undesirable to set a deadline for the consultations. Chinese and Japanese leaders reached a new consensus on the issue during Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's visit to China in December 2007. They agreed to work toward an early settlement as they advance China-Japans relations, Yang said.

China-Russia relations

China-Russia relations are in good shape, Yang said. More than two decades after they established their strategic partnership of cooperation, China and Russia have agreed to push forward their bilateral ties, fully confident about the prospects of their relations, Yang said.

China and Russia will strengthen high-level contacts and exchanges, support each other on issues concerning their respective core interests and promote trade and economic cooperation, he said. The two countries also will expand cultural exchanges by holding the Year of the Russian Language in China in 2009 and the Year of the Chinese Language in Russia in 2010, he said.

China-U.S. relations

While remaining generally stable, China-U.S. relations continue to move ahead, Yang said. Trade between the two countries has made great strides in recent years, something that is beneficial to both countries, he said.

Yang pointed out that America's trade deficit with China results from a number of factors. First, economic globalization and the two countries' trade mix are responsible. Second, China has been a favored destination for international investment. More than 60 percent of Chinese products exported to the United States are made by foreign companies and joint ventures, including U.S. companies. Third, while China has a trade surplus in goods, the United States posts a trade surplus in services. America's strict limitations on its hi-tech product exports to China are another major cause of the two countries' trade imbalance.

China is willing to increase imports from the United States, Yang said. It is already the fastest growing export market for the United States. It is also willing to conduct a human rights dialogue with the United States on the basis of equality and mutual respect, Yang said.

China-Europe relations

Stable progress has been made in China-Europe relations since China established formal relations with the European Economic Community in 1975, Yang said.

The relationship has moved up three tiers, from constructive partnership, comprehensive partnership to comprehensive strategic partnership. The European Union (EU) is now China's largest trading partner, with the annual bilateral trade volume totaling more than $300 billion, 100 times more than in 1975. Yang said China has great confidence in the China-Europe relationship despite rising trade disputes, which he called "growing pains."

An increasing number of European countries have realized that the Dalai Lama issue is not a religious or ethnic issue, but one that bears on China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, Yang said. He believes even more countries will come to this conclusion and realize the Dalai Lama's conspiracy to split Tibet from China.

China and the EU will soon hold a high level economic dialogue. China will host the Seventh Asia-Europe Meeting in August, which will be a grand gathering for more than 40 heads of states and governments from Asian and European countries, Yang said. China hopes the meeting will improve cooperation between Asia and Europe in international affairs, the economy and trade and help promote dialogue among different civilizations, he added.

China-Africa relations

China considers African countries as its friends and is committed to a new China-Africa strategic partnership based on sincerity, friendship, equality, mutual support and common development, Yang said.

African countries have the right to choose their own partners for cooperation, he said. They have the right to translate their advantage in resources into advantages in development and translate their potential advantages into real advantages through cooperation, he added.

Defending China's engagement with Africa, Yang said that if one wants to comment on China-Africa cooperation, he should first respect the will and views of the African people. China-Africa cooperation has not only injected impetus into African development, but also prompted other countries to show greater concern for the continent, he said.

Six-party talks

It is time for all parties concerned to work even harder to push forward the six-party talks on the North Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, Yang said. China will play a constructive role in achieving the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, maintaining peace and stability on the peninsula and realizing harmony in northeast Asia, he said.

He called on all parties--North Korea, the United States, China, Japan, South Korea and Russia--to be patient and creative and to make concerted efforts to implement the second phase of the Joint Statement they issued on September 19, 2005, which established a framework for a package solution to the North Korean nuclear issue.

The stable development of the China-South Korea comprehensive and cooperative partnership serves the fundamental interests of the two nations, Yang said, adding that China is willing to work together with South Korea to further advance this relationship.

The two countries are ready to enhance high-level exchanges, expand trade and economic cooperation, deepen their cooperation in science and technology, culture, education and health, and step up their coordination in international and regional affairs, he said.

China's relations with North Korea are also "on the track of normal development," Yang said.

New diplomatic vision

In a new era when China actively takes part in many international issues with its rising influence, peaceful development, exchanges and communication, mutual benefit and win-win progress and cooperation and harmony are important to the country's foreign policy, Yang said.

All countries, developing and developed ones alike, should be committed to peaceful development, he said. They should resolve their differences by peaceful means, live in harmony and strive for common development, he added.

Countries should put themselves in each other's shoes, take a fair and objective view, recognize and accommodate the reasonable interests and needs of others, Yang said. China stands ready to deepen its friendship and engage in exchanges and cooperation with the rest of the world, he said.

Countries should seek mutual benefit and win-win progress not only in the economic field, but also in political affairs, security, culture and education, he said. They should strengthen their exchanges and cooperation to increase the elements of harmony in the world and reduce elements of discord in a bid to advance the goal of building a harmonious world, he said.