Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the following remarks at the opening ceremony of the second round of six-party talks Wednesday morning: 

 

I wish to hereby declare the opening of the second round of the Six-Party Talks. As the host, we warmly welcome all the delegations to Beijing again.

 

Half a year ago, it was also in this hall that we successfully launched the process of the Six-Party talks, charting the course for a peaceful solution to the nuclear issue. Since then, the parties have had uninterrupted dialogues and consultations between themselves, made a lot of in-depth preparations for a new round, and through this process, enhanced the understanding of each other's positions. Now the parties are all ready to discuss substantive issues and expect to produce concrete results in the second round.

 

We agree that the concerns of all the parties need to be addressed through coordinated steps, and all hope to continue the peace process initiated by the Six-Party Talks. These form an important basis for our talks today.

 

The second round is of great significance as it launches discussion on substantive issues, marking another new step forward in the peace process. At this round, the parties will discuses how to identify the specific objectives in resolving the nuclear issue, explore measures to be taken in the first phase to resolve the nuclear issue and study ways to continue the process of the talks. As the talks go ahead, we will encounter more difficulties and challenges. But this is exactly where we must fulfill our historical duty and where the international community has placed high hopes on us.

 

We, the six parties, gather here, reflecting the strong political aspiration for peace of the six governments and peoples. We come to the talks to expand our common ground rather than to highlight our differences. We come here to solve rather than to worsen problems. The Chinese side believes that the parties, all aware of the responsibilities on their shoulders to seek peace, will adopt a constructive stance, act in a cooperative and accommodating spirit, respect each other, display flexibility and narrow the gap in their positions. China, being a major neighboring country to the Korean Peninsula, will be firmly supportive of the goal of securing a nuclear weapon free Peninsula, consistently advance the process of seeking a peaceful solution to the nuclear issue, and staunchly safeguard peace and stability on the Peninsula.

 

As the host, the Chinese side is willing to do its utmost to ensure the smooth conduct of the talks. I look forward to productive cooperation with my colleagues form other countries and I hope that the other parties will continue to support the Chinese efforts.

 

(Xinhua News Agency February 25, 2004)