¡¡BEIJING, Oct. 13 (Xinhuanet) --The third round of China-Japan Strategic Dialogue scheduled for October 14 through 17 in Beijing will cover a wide range of topics concerning all areas of ties, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan here Thursday.

    Kong told a regular news conference that China and Japan are important neighbors. They have had rapid development of bilateral ties in recent years and expanding exchanges and cooperation in various fields.

    However, there are enormous problems in Sino-Japanese relations,which require earnest treatment with a serious attitude from the two sides, said Kong, hoping that the Japanese will work actively with the Chinese to implement the consensus reached between leaders of the two countries so as to jointly push forward the development of bilateral relations in the new century.

    China and Japan held talks in Beijing in May and in Tokyo in June.

   Handling of abandoned wartime chemical weapons

   China urged Japan to take substantial measures to speed up the process of the disposal of chemical weapons abandoned by Japan in China during the World War II, said Kong.

    Kong said Japanese Vice-Minister of the Cabinet Office Takeshi Erikawa, who came to handle the abandoned chemical weapon issue, started his China tour on Tuesday. He came back to Beijing on Thursday after his visit to the site where chemical weapons were buried in Dunhua City of northeast China's Jilin Province on Wednesday.

    Kong said Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei will meet with Takeshi Erikawa on Friday and Chinese officials will hold working talks with him.

    According to Kong, abandoned chemical weapons by Japan have been found in about 40 sites in 15 provinces in China, with the largest proportion in Dunhua.

    "These chemical weapons have posed a great threat to the safetyof the Chinese people and the ecological environment, " said Kong.

    "China has urged the Japanese side to provide the exact sites where wartime chemical weapons are buried in China but has not yetreceived any response from Japan," he said.

    Kong said China hopes the Japanese side could accelerate its process of dealing with the issue and eliminate a problem that haslingered for sixty years.

    Official statistics show that Japan abandoned at least 2 million tons of chemical weapons in China. A total of 2,000 Chinese people have fallen victim to the chemical weapons over thepast decades. In August 2003, a toxic leak, which killed one and injured 43 others in Qiqihar City of Heilongjiang Province, was the most serious tragedy in recent years.

    China and Japan joined the United Nation Chemical Weapons Convention in 1997. Two years later, the two sides signed a memorandum, in which Japan agreed to provide all the necessary funds, equipment and personnel for the retrieval and destruction of all the Japanese-abandoned chemical weapons in China by 2007. 

    Mainland on Taiwan attending APEC

    China is in firm opposition to the assignment of Taiwan "President of Legislative Yuan" to attend the informal summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Kong Quan said.

    Kong made the remarks when asked to comment on a report that Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian has assigned "President of Legislative Yuan" of Taiwan to attend the summit.

    The APEC's concerned memorandum of understanding has clear prescripts on Chinese Taipei's representative at the meeting, Kongsaid, namely, Chinese Taipei can only send its minister in charge of APEC-related economic affairs to attend the meeting. The APEC has already formed its norms on this basis.

    To handle related issues in strict accordance with such prescripts and norms constitutes the political basis for Taiwan's participation in APEC activities and the essential pre-condition for smooth progress of APEC activities,said Kong, noting that "China resolutely opposes any participant violating the above-mentioned prescripts and norms."

    Kong said Chen Shui-bian obviously harbors his ulterior political attempt by playing tricks on this matter and the parties concerned should handle related affairs properly while fully realizing the severity of this issue.

    "China hopes that the Republic of Korea should play its due role as the APEC host." the spokesman said.

    Sino-Iran ties

    China and Iran will discuss the further development of bilateral ties during Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki's visit to China, said Kong.

    Mottaki arrived here Thursday morning on a two-day official visit as guest of Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing.

    Kong said that Chinese leaders will meet Mottaki and the two foreign ministers will hold talks. The two sides will focus on furthering bilateral relations under the new circumstances and exchange views on international and regional issues of common concern.

    He said the Iranian nuclear issue will be another topic betweenthe two sides and China holds a supportive attitude toward the negotiations between Iran and the three European countries.

    China hopes all parties will properly settle the issue within the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency through peaceful negotiations, especially about finding a long-term solution, said Kong.

    He said China hopes Iran, the European Union and other parties concerned will break the deadlock with patience, flexibility and concrete and pragmatic steps, and resume dialogues, consultations and negotiations on this issue as early as possible.

    G20 meeting to be open for ideas

    Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said here Thursday that the upcoming G20 meeting is open for ideas and China hopes it would facilitate the participating countries to promote common development.

    Kong said the G20 meeting to be held in Beijing and Xianghe, Hebei Province in north China will involve both developed countries and developing countries.

    The resolution of such a meeting will reflect the needs and interests of different countries since it takes into considerationthe concerns of developed countries as well as those of the developing countries, he said.

    Kong said that the meeting is a good platform for involved countries to make their positions known to each other, adding that China hoped the participants could freely air their views on global economic situation.

    Kong said China is ready to elaborate its opinions on relevantissues and is happy to be a good listener.

    On the issue of RMB exchange rate, he stressed, China has been keeping dialogues with the United States all the time in the hope of the two sides giving better understanding to each other.

    Kong said the issue concerning the RMB exchange rate is basically a domestic one.

    China will deepen its reform in the financial sector, in particular, the reform of the formation mechanism of exchange rates through gradual steps in its own manner and speed, he said.

    China working closely with Pakistanis to rescue survivors

    China's international searching rescue team is working closely with Pakistanis to rescue the survivors of the country's Saturday earthquake, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan here Thursday.

    Kong told a regular news conference that the Chinese rescue team had found 3 survivors and treated 200 injured up to 4 p.m. Wednesday.

    He said the third batch of relief materials from China, including 3,130 items of medicine and medical equipment, 50 tons in weight, was dispatched to the quake-hit areas at 6 p.m. Tuesday and arrived in Pakistan at 11 p.m.

    The fourth batch of relief materials, including 620 tents, 2,000 blankets and 18,000 sheets, about 49 tons in weight, has been dispatched this morning, said Kong.

    "In the following days other materials in bad need will also bedispatched to the disaster-stricken areas," he said.

    Earlier on Thursday, Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan visited the Pakistani embassy in China to extend deep condolences, on behalf of the Chinese government and people, to the nation's earthquake victims.

    Kong said Tang expressed his belief that the Pakistani people will be sure to overcome the disaster and rebuild their homeland under the leadership of President Pervez Musharraf and the Pakistani government.

    A powerful earthquake, of a magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter scale, rocked Pakistan, India and Afghanistan last Saturday morning.

    The quake, believed to be the worst since the founding of Pakistan, caused widespread destruction in the central and northern parts of the country. According to latest reports, the death toll has risen to more than 25,000, and is likely to rise further. Enditem