An international conference on Iraq ended Tuesday with the
adoption of a 14-point communiqué that called for international
support for a democratic Iraq.
China's permanent representative to the United Nations Wang
Guangya attended the meeting and delivered a speech on behalf
of the Chinese government Tuesday.
In his speech, Wang said that the Iraqi people should determine
Iraq's future and that the independence, sovereignty, national
unity and territorial integrity of the country should be observed.
The security problems in Iraq demand a comprehensive political
solution and improvement of the situation should fall within the
framework of the development of the political process in the
country.
The Chinese government hopes the upcoming elections in Iraq,
which should be just, democratic and transparent, will lead to the
formation of a transitional government that represents the majority
of the Iraqi people and possesses due authority.
Wang stressed that China believes the Iraq issue should be
solved within the UN framework and China hopes the United Nations
can have an important role in Iraq's reconstruction.
He said China also hopes Iraq will develop friendly and
cooperative relations with its neighbors. The international
community should consider the views of Iraq's neighboring countries
and the Arab nations to allow them to play a positive role in
solving the Iraq problem.
Wang said the Chinese people will always be trustworthy friends
of the Iraqi people, noting that the
two countries have enjoyed friendly relations for an extended
period.
He announced that China will donate supplies worth US$1 million
to help Iraq carry out the elections. China is also willing to help
train Iraqi diplomats and professionals in the fields of economics
and energy.
Wang arrived in the Egyptian Red Sea resort on Monday afternoon
and headed directly into a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister
Ahmed Abul Gheit, during which he delivered a letter from Chinese
President Hu Jintao
to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Wang has also been engaged in a string of bilateral meetings
with other delegates to the international conference, including
German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov and Javier Solana, European Union Council
secretary-general and high representative for the Common Foreign
and Security Policy.
The Iraq gathering, hosted by Egypt, brought together
representatives of over 20 countries and regional and international
organizations, including Iraq's neighboring countries, the G-8,
China, the United Nations and the European Union.
(Xinhua News Agency November 24, 2004)