Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said through multiple rounds of trilateral and bilateral talks China, the United States and North Korea exchanged views on pushing forward the six-party talks in a frank and in-depth manner.

"The meetings are conducive to enhancing mutual understanding and sharing concerns," Jiang said Thursday at a regular press briefing in Beijing. She again urged all parties to take the opportunity to adopt active measures to achieve progress in pushing for an early resumption of the stalled talks.

Vice-Foreign Minister Wu Dawei, US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill and their counterpart from Pyongyang Kim Kye-gwan held informal discussions starting Tuesday. This was their first meeting since the end of October.

Talking to reporters during a brief stopover at Tokyo airport after meetings in Beijing Thursday, Hill had a warning for North Korea. "They must get out of the nuclear business and into the NPT," he said, referring to the Non-Proliferation Treaty which Pyongyang quit in 2003.

However, Pyongyang is adamant that it will not give up the country's nuclear program. It is reported Pyongyang wants sanctions dropped and Washington to unfreeze its overseas bank accounts as preconditions for ending its nuclear program.

According to Jiang the inaugural meeting of the China-US Strategic Economic Dialogue will be held from December 14-15 in Beijing and will be co-chaired by Vice-Premier Wu Yi and US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

The dialogue was launched by President Hu Jintao and his US counterpart George W. Bush in September as an arching forum for discussing ways the two countries can work together to ensure their people benefit fairly from the growing bilateral economic relationship.

The ministers and senior officials concerned from the two countries will also attend the dialogue. Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao are expected to meet with the US delegation, she added. 

"The dialogue will further promote economic and trade cooperation between China and the US and will be conducive to the development and stability of the global economy," she said.

The dialogue was announced in September during a trip to Beijing by Paulson.

The spokeswoman also said Premier Wen Jiabao will attend a series of summits in Cebu, the Philippines and pay an official visit there from December 11-14. 

The meetings will include the 10th ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) plus Three (China, Japan and the Republic of Korea) summit, the 10th China-ASEAN summit and an East Asian regional summit, Jiang said.

Wen would also chair the seventh annual meeting of leaders of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, Jiang added.

She said the 10th China-ASEAN summit would focus on practical co-operation between the two sides. "China will discuss with ASEAN the practical co-operation for next year and put forward a series of concrete proposals to further consolidate and raise the level of bilateral strategic partnership," said Jiang.

She said the relations between China and ASEAN had entered a new historic period. They were marked by a China-ASEAN joint statement that strategically planned future co-operation adopted at the summit commemorating the 15th anniversary of the dialogue partnership between China and ASEAN held at the end of October in Nanning, capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

On the seventh China, Japan, ROK leaders' meeting Jiang said, "China looks forward  deeply to exchanging views with Japan and the ROK on trilateral co-operation and international and regional issues of common concern."

Invited by Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alberto Romulo the Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing will attend a series of foreign ministers' meetings in Cebu City of the Philippines from December 9-10, Jiang announced.

The meetings will include China-ASEAN foreign ministers' gathering, foreign ministers' working luncheon of the ASEAN and China, Japan and the Republic of Korea and foreign ministers' working luncheon of the East Asia summit.

Li will also preside over the fourth meeting of the Tripartite Commission of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, according to Jiang.

Jiang also announced that Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Zhai Jun will visit Israel, Palestine and other countries in the Middle East in the near future to bring parties concerned back onto the track of negotiations.

"As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has been engaged in the proper settlement of the Middle East issue," said Jiang in response to a question on Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's remarks Monday that Israel was ready to resume negotiations with Palestine and solve the Middle East issue peacefully.

China welcomes the Israeli prime minister's remarks, said Jiang, adding that China appreciates the positive measures Israel and Palestine have recently taken for easing tensions.

"China hopes the two sides could take concrete measures to establish mutual trust and resume peace talks as soon as possible," Jiang added.

In another development China hopes the Vatican could see the ordination of bishops by the Chinese church in a positive light allowing for the history of bilateral relations between China and the Vatican and the current conditions of China's Catholic Church.

Jiang said the principles of the Chinese government on its relations with the Vatican are consistent, namely the Vatican should sever its relations with the Taiwan authorities and not interfere in China's internal affairs under the pretext of religion.

"We are sincere in improving relations with the Vatican and would explore ways to do that based on the above two principles," she said.

When asked to comment on the current situation in Fiji she said, "China is paying much attention to the situation in Fiji and hopes it maintain stability." She noted that Fiji is friendly towards China.

According to reports tensions in Fiji have been high since Fiji Military Commander Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama threatened last month to remove Prime Minister Qarase from office.

Qarase negotiated on Wednesday with Bainimarama in Wellington, New Zealand to find a solution to the political tension resulted in a possible coup but no agreement was reached.
 
The UN Security Council on Wednesday called upon the military of Fiji to exercise restraint and avoid taking any action which would undermine the rule of law and run counter to the best interests of the people of Fiji.

Jiang said that China has always advocated that the Iraqi issue should be properly settled in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions. These remarks were also made on Thursday.  

Jiang made the comments when asked to comment on a recent US bipartisan group's consensus on its recommendations to the US government on Iraq policy. News reports said the group recommended the US government should work with Iraq's neighbors in finding ways to end violent conflicts in Iraq including direct engagement with Iran and Syria.

It will be conducive to peace and stability in the Middle East for relevant countries to establish and develop bilateral relations, Jiang said. China hopes Iraq can stabilize and realize "Iraqi people governing Iraq" at an early date, she added.

The group examining the Bush administration's Iraq policy reached agreement Wednesday afternoon and would announce its report on December 6.

(China Daily, Xinhua News Agency December 1, 2006)