US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte on Thursday morning stressed clearly that Taiwan's "referendum for UN membership" is a mistake and such "referendum" is a provocative policy of the Taiwan authorities.

 

He made the remarks at a press conference at the US embassy to China in Beijing. "The United States thinks it certainly would have been preferable not to have such a 'referendum.'"

 

Negroponte said such a statement had been made by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last month and he was reiterating this.

 

He said the United States understood the Taiwan question is a core interest to and a core concern of China. "It's not something where one can talk about trade-off with other issues."

 

He said the United States continued to advocate neither side across the Taiwan Straits take unilateral steps to alter the status quo and encouraged both sides to deal with the issue by peaceful means.

 

Negroponte reaffirmed the United State's commitment to the three joint US-China communiques. He said they were the basis for US policy toward China as well as the Taiwan Relation Act.

 

Negroponte arrived on Wednesday for the fifth US-China Strategic Dialogue on Thursday and Friday with Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo. He met with Premier Wen Jiabao and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, respectively, on Wednesday.

 

On Thursday afternoon, Negroponte went to the southwestern Guizhou Province to attend the US-China Strategic Dialogue together with Dai.

 

Negroponte said he was glad to be invited to the province, the home of Dai, to appreciate other parts of China apart from Beijing.

 

He expected to exchange views with Dai on wide-ranging topics, including the Korean Peninsula situation, the situation of the Taiwan Straits, the Darfur issue and the Iran nuclear issue. He would also talk about human rights issues.

 

Both the United States and China are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and active participants on the international stage. The United States hopes to ensure that both sides fairly understand each other's approaches on issues confronted by the world today and hopes to try to harmonize and work out common understanding and approaches, Negroponte said.

 

The United States and China are partners in the international system. The international system will benefit if the two work together, said Negroponte, giving examples of US-China cooperation in the six-party talks process and on the Sudan Darfur issue.

 

When asked to comment on the current progress of six-party talks, he said the dismantlement of the nuclear facilities in Yongbyon of North Korea, is an important development in the process.

 

"We have experienced already in the six-party talks where agreed measures were not implemented exactly on the timetable that had been stipulated. But they were, in the end, carried out, such as the Banco Delta Asia situation," he said, adding "we are going to keep working at it with the expectation that the talks will bear fruit and be successful."

 

On China's military transparency, Negroponte said it is very important, particularly between two countries that have as large and important capabilities as the United States and China.

 

It is important for "the conduct of relations" and "to avoid misunderstanding", he noted.

 

"Slowly but truly, various channels are being developed" at the military level, and between the two departments of defense of the countries, and through diplomatic channels. He stressed there will be representatives from the defense departments of the two countries to attend the dialogue in Guizhou.

 

When asked whether the United States worries that China is not a "free and fair" trader since it has huge trade deficit, he acknowledged the deficit is substantial. He also said the United States is "encouraged" by the growth of US exports to China in recent years, over 20 percent sometimes.

 

He said China has the potential to become a promising country for US exports since the increase of domestic consumption, the development of the domestic economy and the lowering of savings rates in China could bring new opportunities for US exports.

 

(Xinhua News Agency January 18, 2008)