China is seeking to gather the six-party talks' chief delegates in the middle of this month to help resolve the Korean Peninsula issue, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Qin Gang said at a press conference yesterday.

Qin said China was maintaining close contact with the other five countries, North and South Korea, the US, Russia and Japan, to negotiate a definite date.

Qin said all parties should move to fulfill their obligations and implement the initial agreements in a comprehensive and balanced way, so that discussion on resolving the Korean nuclear issue can move on.

Media reports in South Korea quoted diplomatic sources as saying that China had set the resumption date at July 18, barring no major developments, a date confirmed by the US.

The fresh round of talks would go on for two days, with an option to extend by a day.

The US chief, Christopher Hill, will travel to Asia on Thursday, State Department spokesman Tom Casey said.

FBI advert condemned

China expressed its outrage at a US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) advertisement in a San Francisco newspaper that asked readers for information on Beijing-sponsored espionage.

"The contents of the US advertisements are totally groundless," Qin said.

The Chinese security authorities carry out their duties following the rule of law and would never carry out any operations that could destabilize a foreign government, violate another country's sovereignty and integrity or undermine its security interests.

Qin said a few US citizens were trying to create a non-existent Chinese threat and turn popular opinion against China.

"Such unpopular activities will get (a country) nowhere," he said, urging the US to take effective steps to undo the negative impact created by the incident.

Weapons' export stance

Responding to allegations that Chinese weapons were turning up in Iraq and were being used by the Taliban, Qin reiterated China's position on weapons' exports.

Qin said China does export weapons abroad but has always done so in ways that would avoid bringing harm to other governments. Furthermore, these exports abide by domestic and international law.

He said China will stick to three principles in exporting weapons: helping to raise the defensive capability of the recipients, not damaging regional peace and stability, and non-interference in the internal affairs of the recipients."

China only does military business with sovereign countries and always ensures recipients do not pass the weapons to third parties without express permission, Qin said.

Visit of UN Secretary-General's Special Advisor on Myanmar

Qin announced that the UN Secretary-General's Special Advisor on Myanmar Ibrahim Gambari visited China from July 8 to 10. Gambari briefed Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo and Assistant Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai on the situation in Myanmar and UN's mediation efforts in the country.

Qin said that while China appreciates the UN's mediation work in Myanmar, it does not believe the country's situation threatens regional peace and security and feels that the Myanmarese people are best-equipped to determine their own affairs.

(China Daily, Xinhua News Agency July 11, 2007)