China. People´s Daily Dec 13
Extracts. President Jiang Arrives in Myanmar for State Visit. Chinese President Jiang Zemin arrived in Yangon at noon local time Wednesday, starting a four-day state visit to Myanmar at the invitation of Than Shwe, chairman of the State Peace and Development Council of Myanmar. Chinese President Jiang Zemin arrived in Yangon at noon local time Wednesday, starting a four-day state visit to Myanmar at the invitation of Than Shwe, chairman of the State Peace and Development Council of Myanmar. This is a return visit to Than Shwe's China tour in 1996. Than Shwe greeted Jiang and presided over a welcoming ceremony for Jiang at the airport. Jiang's entourage includes Jiang's wife Wang Yeping, Vice-Premier Qian Qichen and his wife Zhou Hanqiong, and other senior Chinese officials who arrived aboard the same plane. Jiang delivered a written statement on arrival at the Yangon International Airport. He said he is very glad to have the opportunity of coming to the Union of Myanmar for a state visit at the invitation of Senior General Than Shwe, chairman of the SPDC, and he would like to take this opportunity to convey the cordial greetings and good wishes of the Chinese people to the people of Myanmar. Jiang pointed out that China and Myanmar are good neighbors with a profound 'pawkphaw' (fraternal) friendship fostered in the long-term and close contacts between the two peoples. In the past years since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the two countries initiated the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence for state-to-state relations and the friendly bilateral relations were constantly consolidated and developed, noted Jiang. He stressed that this is in the interest of the two peoples as well as peace and stability in the region. He said he hopes to enhance mutual understanding, deepen friendship and expand cooperation through exchange of views on bilateral relations and other issues of common interest with leaders of Myanmar during the visit. He said he also hopes to learn more about the economic and social development of the country, adding that he is confident that with the host's thoughtful arrangements, his current visit will achieve positive results. He wished the Union of Myanmar enjoy prosperity and its people well-being. Jiang is scheduled to hold talks with Than Shwe later Wednesday. * Pakistan Media: US to Deploy NMD in Afghanistan to Control China. According to a report from Pakistan Frontier Post, as the American forces successfully set foot in Afghanistan, Washington may deploy NMD in Afghanistan to control China in the battlefront, sources said. Sources say that America comes to Afghanistan with many aims, first, the United States wants to control the flow of natural resources from Central Asian countries into China via Afghanistan, so that it could restrain China's increasing economic and military influence. Second, it wants to deploy NMD in Afghanistan. The sources also said that the United States would carry out those targets after Afghanistan's situation is stabilized in the coming two years. China Against US NMD System China's standing on the anti-missile issue is very clear and consistent. China opposes the US National Missile Defense (NMD) system. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue made the remarks December 4 at a regular press conference. China holds that all sides should seek solutions through careful and serious dialogue to safeguard security and benefit each side, and not harm the international disarmament and arms control, she said. Chinese Ambassador Warns of Grave Consequences of NMD The development and deployment of the national missile defense system (NMD) by the United States will undermine global strategic balance and stability and threaten international peace and stability, a Chinese official said September 14. Once NMD is deployed, the Treaty on the Limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems (ABM Treaty) will be dead in essence, said Chinese Ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament (CD) Hu Xiaodi at the CD plenary. US NMD Systems The NMD complex currently planned has six distinct parts, all of which must perform perfectly if the system is to succeed. These elements are: *1) The initial launch detection and tracking system that consists of the satellites of the Defense Support Program (DSP). *2) Five ground-based early warning radars (including one each in the UK and Greenland) that receive the initial tracking data from DSP or SBIRS-High through the system's command and control network. *3) Four but possibly as many as nine (including one each in the UK, Greenland, and South Korea) X-band (high frequency, short wavelength) radars whose function is to discriminate between incoming real warheads and decoys. *4) Interceptor booster, a modified three stage commercial off-the-shelf very fast rocket which carries the exoatmospheric kill vehicle (EKV) to close proximity of the planned intercept point. *5)
China. People´s Daily Dec 13
Extracts. Wednesday, December 13, 2000, updated at 12:34(GMT+8) Cuba's Economy Improves Despite US Blockage, Minister Says Cuba's economy is improving despite the US four-decade-old blockade, said Government Minister Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz. Addressing the 13th session of Sino-Cuban joint commission for economic and trade relations here Tuesday, he said in this year's first six-month period, a 7.7 percent economic growth was registered, with an increase in productivity and reduced unemployment. Cabrisas thanked China for helping the Cuban people during their moments of hardship, praising bilateral cooperation in sugar industry, foodstuff, raw material and medicine in particular. During the meeting, both parties reviewed economic and commercial cooperation since the commission's previous meeting and explored possibilities for cooperation in new fields for next year. The Chinese delegation which includes a number of top entrepreneurs is headed by China's Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Shi Guangsheng. The Chinese visitors and the Cuban delegation, which is composed of a number of government ministers as well as senior officials, are expected to sign a number of accords on Wednesday, by which China will help Cuba in seismic movement forecasts and hotel crediting. Tuesday's meeting focused on cooperation in the exploitation of hydraulics, oil and nickel resources, and better utilization of sugar cane residues. Cabrisas expressed the hope that Cuba could diversify its exports to China, for which he mentioned Cuban prestige products such as medicines, cigars, sugar industry derivatives and rum. Shi said China will continue to develop the economic and trade relations with Cuba on the basis of equality and mutual benefits, pledging a certain amount of economic assistance to Cuba within China's power. He believed that the economic and trade ties between the two countries will surely be strengthened through joint efforts. Wednesday, December 13, 2000, updated at 11:19(GMT+8) China, Japan Vow to Further Relations [Image] President Jiang Meets with Head of the Democratic Party of Japan -- China and Japan should make efforts to further bilateral ties in the new century, Chinese President Jiang Zemin said Tuesday, December 12. "A healthy, stable, and friendly Sino-Japanese relationship is not only conforms to the fundamental interests of the people of both countries and their future generations, but also contributes to the peace, stability and development in the Asia-Pacific region and the world at large," Jiang said. In a meeting with Hatoyama Yukio, head of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), Jiang described the current China-Japan relations as "maintaining a sound momentum" on the whole. Bilateral cooperation in various areas has further enriched their partnership of friendly cooperation oriented towards peace and development, he said. The Chinese President said that seeking a better Sino-Japanese relationship is the "common aspiration" of the people of the two countries, also "the historical responsibility" of the statesmen, especially statesmen of the younger generation. As long as the two countries "take the history as a
