BEIJING, Nov. 1 (Xinhuanet) -- China, as the host country of six-party talks, has proposed the specific date for the next roundof the talks, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman at here Tuesday.

    Spokesman Kong Quan did not disclose the proposed date and said China was still waiting for the confirmation from the other parties concerned.

    UP to now all the parties involved in talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue still agreed in principle that the new round of the negotiation would be held in Beijing in early November, Kong told a regular press conference.

    The spokesman also mentioned the just-concluded visit by Li Bin,Chinese envoy in charge of Korean Peninsula affairs, to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United States and the Republic of Korea (ROK).

    Li consulted with relevant departments of the countries on the fifth round of the talks and scored some achievements, said the spokesman.

    Kong expressed the hope that all parties concerned could work together for new progress in the fifth round of the six-party talks, which involves China, the DPRK, the United States, the ROK, Russia and Japan. 

Japan-U.S. alliance

    The alliance between Japan and the United States should not spill over its bilateral frame, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said Tuesday.

    He stressed that the alliance should be "a bilateral arrangement" and "not target the third party."

    China hopes Japan and the United States will respect the peace and stability aspirations of all countries in the region as well as their security concerns, he said.

    Both countries, he said, should do more to increase mutual understanding and trust in the region and help maintain peace.

    In a meeting known informally as a '2+2' meeting, involving Japanese and top US foreign and defense officials, held on Oct. 29 in Washington, the United States and Japan agreed to deploy a powerful missile defense radar in Japan and tighten army ties in a major realignment of the main US military alliance in Asia.

Yasukuni Shrine visits  

    China considers Japanese leaders' visits to the Yasukuni Shrine as a "serious" political issue, Kong Quan said  Tuesday in response to a question concerning Japanese leaders' visits to the shrine.

    "The visits are related to the matters of whether Japan can keep its promise and look back to history with a serious attitude," Kong said, adding that it is also a matter of whether Japan can go through with its commitment to develop in a peaceful way.

    Regarding Sino-Japanese relations, Kong said that China attaches great importance to it; however, "China strongly opposes Japanese top leaders' visits to the Yasukuni Shrine."

    As the Yasukuni Shrine honors Class-A war criminals of the World War Two, Kong noted that Japanese leaders should respect the feelings of the people from its victim counties.

    China and Japan have reiterated on many times that bilateral relations should be based on the principle of "taking history as a mirror and looking forward to the future", Kong said, urging Japanto honor its oral expression to win the trust of people in China, other Asian countries and the international community with actual deeds.

Temporary opening of actual control line in Kashmir

    China welcomed and appreciated the agreement adopted by India and Pakistan to open temporarily the actual control line in Kashmir, Kong Quan said Tuesday.

    China hopes and believes the move will help increase the trust and cooperation between the two countries, and relieve tension between them, he said.

    Representatives of Pakistan and India reached a consensus on Sunday on opening temporarily five checkpoints along the actual control line in Kashmir to allow relief goods to be transported freely between the two sides beginning Nov. 7. The people living on both sides will also be free to cross the line to help each other in the wake of the devastating Oct. 8 earthquake.

Relief goods shipped to Pakistan

    China has offered another batch of 600 tents and 24,000 quilts and padded mattresses to Pakistan for earthquake victims, Kong Quan said.

    The relief goods were shipped from Beijing on Monday, Kong said.

    So far, China's relief aid to Pakistan has amounted to 20.5 million US dollars since the October 8 quake struck the south Asian country.

    In addition, another Chinese searching and rescuing team arrived in Pakistan's disaster-struck areas on Sunday from Beijing and started operation, Kong said.

    "Chinese people are deeply concerned about the current difficulties in Pakistan caused by the earthquake," he said.

    Meanwhile, the spokesman said China has noticed that a meeting on the reconstruction of quake-hit areas will be held in Pakistan on Nov. 19 and the Chinese government is thinking of sending representatives to the meeting. Enditem