The Foreign Ministry announced that President Hu Jintao will pay state visits to eight African countries starting at the end of the month.

 

Hu will visit Cameroon, Liberia, Sudan, Zambia, Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique and the Seychelles between January 30 and February 10, ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao announced at a regular news briefing.

 

The visits reflect major diplomatic activity between China and Africa following the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held last November.

 

They are aimed at "consolidating traditional friendship" and "expanding pragmatic cooperation" between China and the African countries, Liu said. "China believes that Hu's tour will further cement its traditional friendship with Africa, promote substantial cooperation in various fields and boost its new-type strategic partnership with Africa."

 

Outer space experiment 'no threat' to any country

 

Responding to concerns at a recent outer space experiment conducted by Chinese scientists, Liu said China has always advocated the peaceful use of outer space and opposes the weaponization of space.

 

"China has never participated, and will never participate in any arms race in outer space," Liu noted. "And this experiment was not directed at any country and does not constitute a threat to any country."

 

He added that China has informed such countries as the US and Japan of the experiment.

 

China-Vatican relations

 

On the China-Vatican relationship, Liu said China is willing to hold talks to improve ties.

 

"We are willing to maintain contacts and have dialogue with the Vatican; and actively explore the approaches to improving bilateral relations" if the Vatican severs its "diplomatic" ties with Taiwan, and refrains from interfering in China's internal affairs on the pretext of religious freedom, Liu said.

 

The Vatican concluded a meeting at the weekend specifically held to discuss its relationship with China, where it agreed to set up a permanent commission to handle China affairs.

 

The meeting revealed a will to hold "respectful and constructive dialogue" with the Chinese government and to overcome the misunderstandings of the past, said a church statement on Monday.

 

"We appreciate the Vatican's willingness to have constructive dialogue with the Chinese side," Liu said.

 

No date for resumption of six-party talks

 

Liu revealed that no date has been set for another round of six-party talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

 

All the countries involved have agreed to restart the negotiations as soon as possible, but the date for resumption has yet to be fixed, he said.

 

Japan's chief delegate to the talks Kenichiro Sasae will arrive in Beijing today to discuss the issue with his Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei.

 

"We believe these meetings and talks are good for the next phase of six-party talks," said Liu. "The relevant parties are hoping for an early resumption of the talks."

 

China has already begun preparing for the next round of negotiations, he added.

 

Liu said China hoped for progress on implementing a September 2005 joint statement, through which Pyongyang agreed to give up its nuclear program in exchange for security guarantees and economic aid.

 

"We hope related parties can reach a consensus on the actions to be taken to implement the joint statement, and gradually set up a mechanism for implementing it and lay out a timetable for concrete measures," he said.

 

Special envoy to international conference on Lebanon

 

China will send Sun Bigan, its special envoy on the Middle-East issue, to attend the upcoming international conference on aid for Lebanon in Paris, Liu said, adding that China would strive to help resolve the Lebanon issue during the conference.

 

The third international conference on aid for Lebanon will be held in Paris tomorrow.

 

In a phone conversation earlier between Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Seniora, Li affirmed China's support for rebuilding efforts in Lebanon.

 

A second Chinese engineering battalion headed for Lebanon on Monday to join the UN peacekeeping mission there.

 

(Xinhua News Agency, China Daily January 24, 2007)