We can't spell SUCCESS without "U".
All the wonders you seek in life are deep inside yourself.
——Gulliver's Travels
We can't spell SUCCESS without "U".
All the wonders you seek in life are deep inside yourself.
——Gulliver's Travels
By Zuo Likun (chinadaily.com.cn)Updated: 2009-03-07 12:05
China is ready to work with the United States and other countries at the Group of 20 summit in London in April in an effort to put the world economy back on track, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said Saturday.
Yang made the remarks at a press conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on the sidelines of the ongoing session of the National People's Congress, China's parliament.
The pressing task now is that all countries must work together to make the upcoming financial summit in London a success," Yang told the reporters.
The top Chinese diplomat hoped the summit can boost confidence, strengthen coordination on macroeconomic policies, stabilize financial markets, and kickstart necessary reforms in the global financial system and regulatory regime.
President Hu Jintao will meet Barack Obama for the first time since his US counterpart took office in January on the sidelines of the April summit in London, according to Yang.
Beijing is ready to work with the new Obama administration to improve bilateral ties, especially against the backdrop of worsening international financial crisis, he added. "China and the United States share broad common interests."
France Urged to Make Positive Steps
Turning to ties with France, Yang urged the European country to make 'positive' signs to mend the soured bilateral relations, saying China was not to blame for the current problems.
But he said he is fully confident about the long-term development of the Sino-French relations.
Bilateral relations suffered a setback after French President Nicolas Sarkozy met the Dalai Lama in Poland in early December, despite strong protest from China.
The recent auction of the looted bronze rabbit and rat heads sculptures by Christie's in Paris 'added more salt to injuries' when the two counties were acting cautiously to repair their ties.
"China has the right to recover them," the Yang claimed, reiterating the Chinese government's opposition to the relics' auction.
Such an auction was "immoral", he said.
The bronze rabbit and rat heads sculptures were looted from Yuanmingyuan, or the Old Summer Palace, by Anglo-French allied forces during the Second Opium War in 1860.
China had tried repeatedly to dissuade Christie's from auctioning them. But the efforts failed.
Stronger ties with Russia
On relations with another major world power Russia, Yang pledged cooperation in various fields, including energy, and science and technology, as the two countries celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties.
He called a recent agreement on oil pipeline project a "mutually beneficial and win-win result". Under the deal signed in February, China will lend US$25 billion to Russia in exchange for a 20-year oil supply starting from 2011 with a total volume of 300 million tons.
Two countries, both permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, should join hands to promote world multi-polarity and greater democracy in international order, he said.
"We should make greater contribution to promoting world peace, stability and development."
Xinhua contributed to the story