Premier Wen Jiabao's upcoming visit to the United States is significant because it is his first official visit to a foreign country as China's premier and his first official visit to the United States.  

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao made the remarks in Beijing Thursday at a regular press conference.

He said the mainstream of China-US relations is sound, and the two countries have cooperated well on economy and trade and anti-terrorism issues this year, and the recent trade friction will not overshadow the achievements on trade cooperation between China and the United States.

He said Wen's visit coincides with the appearance of some problems in China-US relations, and he believed that the visit would help promote mutual understanding and push forward the settlement of some relevant issues.

Liu said during Wen's stay in the United States, he will visit New York, Washington and Boston. Wen will meet with the US President George W. Bush and some parliamentary and government senior officials. He will deliver a speech at Harvard University.

According to Liu, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, Minister in charge of State Development and Reform Commission Ma Kai and Vice Commerce Minister Ma Xiuhong are among the entourage.

Premier Wen will pay an official visit to the United States, Canada, Mexico and Ethiopia from Dec. 7 to 16. He will also attend the opening ceremony of the Second Ministerial Conference of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum in Ethiopia.

When answering a question from the press on the proliferation risk in exports, the spokesman said China gives full consideration to the proliferation risks when exporting sensitive items.

If some foreign importers misuse items exported from China, China will terminate the contracts with them, which will negatively impact any further cooperation between both sides.

Liu said China consistently adheres to political and diplomatic measures in solving the proliferation issues according to international laws.

When talking about the White Paper on China's Non-Proliferation Policy and Measures published Wednesday, Liu said China is under an obligation to introduce its policies and measures for proliferation prevention to the international community.

Talking about the six-party talks on the nuclear stand-off on the Korean Peninsula, Liu said China is stepping up its mediation with other countries to prepare for the second round of negotiations.

Liu said that the priority of the negotiations was to confirm the common views that the six sides had reached and create conditions to help the second round of talks yield results.

The Chinese side was negotiating with the six sides on the direction of the talks, he added.

The six parties now share some stances, all hoping the talks will be well prepared and yield results, according to Liu.

The Chinese side is accelerating mediation efforts and expecting understanding, support and coordination from concerned parties and the international society, he said.

Liu said he has taken notice of many reports which also reflect concerns from the international society on the six-party talks.

He said all countries concerned are working to meet as soon as possible for the new round of talks, but the exact date has not yet been decided.

Turning to Sino-Japanese relations, the spokesman said the new 21st Century Committee for Japan-China Friendship will play an important role in deepening friendship and enhancing understanding between the Chinese and Japanese peoples.

According to Liu, the Chinese and Japanese sides will exchange views on how to push forward the healthy and stable development of Sino-Japanese relations in the new century at the first session of the committee that will be held in Dalian, a coastal city in northeast China's Liaoning Province, from December 5 to 7.

The new 21st Century Committee for Japan-China Friendship, inaugurated in July this year and consisting of people from the Chinese and Japanese political, economic, academic and press circles, will play an active role in the Sino-Japanese relations, Liu said.

Also at yesterday’s briefing, the spokesman said Internet management benefits the Chinese people, and the government is trying to find a way to administer the Internet to promote social development.

Liu said China has 70 million Internet users, and this number is increasing. He added that although China attaches importance to the positive role the Internet has played in national economic development, there is also some unhealthy information on the web.

Liu said other countries have also noticed the bad impact of the unhealthy information, and have tried to find a reasonable way to manage Internet.

(Sources including Xinhua News Agency and China Daily, December 5, 2003)