Beijing: Even as US Secretary of State Colin Powell's forceful plea to back
Washington's hard-line stance on Iraq and North Korea's weapons of mass destruction,
Chinese leaders stuck to their stance that the twin "hot" issues need to be resolved
peacefully and diplomatically.
Powell is here to seek China's tacit support for a second UN Security Council
resolution on Iraq, as well as prod Beijing to persuade its reclusive ally North
Korea to renounce its nuclear weapons programme.
He met separately with Chinese President Jiang Zemin, Vice-President and general
secretary of ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) Hu Jintao and Foreign Minister
Tang Jiaxuan and was told that China wanted to see a political solution to the Iraq
crisis within the ambit of the United Nations.
"A political solution to the Iraq issue within the framework of the United Nations
should be found," Hu told Powell while describing Iraq and nuclear issue of North
Korea as "two hot spots concerning the international community at present".
"China has always requested Iraq to fully, strictly and earnestly implement the
resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council, and honour its words of possessing
no weapons of mass destruction," Hu was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua news
agency.
Powell, who met the press after seeing Hu and Tang, strongly urged the UN Security
Council and the international community to act resolutely to disarm Iraq and prevent
North Korea's ambitious nuclear programme as well as its proliferation of weapons of
mass destruction.
"The United States believes strongly and I conveyed this to my Chinese interlocutors
today that it is time for (Iraqi President) Saddam to disarm or depart and for the
Security Council to get ready to live up to its responsibilities if Saddam does not
meet his responsibilities," Powell said.
He said that he told Chinese leaders that the US and the UK would be tabling a new
resolution on Iraq and hoped that Beijing, a permanent member of Security Council,
would study its wording closely.
On North Korea, Hu, who is set to succeed Jiang next month as Chinese President,
said china maintains that the Korean peninsula should be free from nuclear weapons,
and peace and stability there should be safeguarded.
"China hopes the United States and North Korea will conduct direct dialogues as soon
as possible," he said adding that China will work with the international community
to continue making efforts for political solutions to the two issues.
However, Powell stressed that Washington was not willing to consider Pyongyang's
nuclear issue as a bilateral issue between the US and North Korea.
PTI
