Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, at a meeting with American scholars in New York Sunday night, stressed that China and the United States should avoid conflicts and make more efforts to deepen their relations.

A review of the history of China-US relations over the past half century leads to the basic conclusion that both gain from peaceful coexistence but lose from conflict, and it is a common understanding that the two nations should continuously broaden and deepen their relations, Wen said.

Wen discussed with these American scholars China-US economic and trade ties, the exchange rate of the Chinese currency, the RMB, and relations across the Taiwan Straits.

Wen said that China will make joint efforts with the United States to establish a new mechanism of consultation to properly handle possible friction and conflicts and start a new phase of cooperation in economic relations and trade between the two sides.

Among the scholars were David Lampton, director of Chinese Studies, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations. They noted that the China-US relations have improved a great deal amid ups and downs over the past three decades as both sides managed to narrow their differences and open up broad prospects for further cooperation.

They cautioned that the two countries should work together to properly handle the problems in bilateral trade. They also made suggestions on readjusting China's policy governing the exchange rate of its currency. Wen Jiabao said China will further improve the mechanism of shaping RMB's exchange rate.

The Chinese premier reiterated that China will adhere to the fundamental principle of "peaceful reunification and one country, two systems." He stressed that China will never tolerate any attempt to split Taiwan from the motherland.

Some of the US scholars present said the US government should take a clearer stand against Taiwan's independence, and both sides should improve their communication and join hands in maintaining the stability in the Asia Pacific region.

Wen also met with some 600 representatives of the local Chinese community. At the meeting, he said maintaining national unity constitutes the ultimate national interests and that China will do its utmost to promote the peaceful reunification of the motherland.

(Xinhua News Agency December 9, 2003)