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Putin to visit China this month: FM
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-03-07 16:18
At the invitation of Chinese President Hu Jintao, Russia's President Vladimir
Putin is scheduled to visit China later this month, said Chinese Foreign
Minister Li Zhaoxing here on Tuesday.
Foreign Minister Li
Zhaoxing speaks at the press conference in Beijing March 7, 2006.
[Xinhua] | "The visit is expected to boost the
all-round development of the Sino-Russian Strategic Partnership of Cooperation,
and facilitate world peace, stability and development," he said.
Li said
during Putin's visit, the two presidents would jointly attend the opening
ceremony of "the Year of Russia" in China and a Sino-Russia high-level business
forum.
The two sides would also issue political documents and sign a
series of mutual cooperative treaties.
Li made the remarks at a press
conference held on the sidelines of the ongoing annual full session of the Tenth
National People's Congress, China's top legislature.
President
Hu to visit US soon
Chinese President Hu Jintao is
going to visit the United States shortly, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing
said.
It is the first time that Hu visits the United States as Chinese president.
Both sides are busy preparing for the visit, Li said.
Li stressed that
the Taiwan issue is the "biggest" factor affecting Sino-U.S. relations,
expressing the hope that the U.S. side sticks to the one-China policy, observes
the three Sino-U.S. joint communiques, has a clear understanding of the
dangerous nature of "Taiwan independence" secessionist forces and activities,
and takes concrete measures to oppose such attempts.
The minister called on the U.S. side not to send false signals to "Taiwan
independence" secessionists and work together with China to safeguard the peace
and stability in the Taiwan Straits region and the overall interests in
Sino-U.S. relations.
"We are ready to work with the U.S. side to strengthen mutual understanding,
expand common ground, deepen mutual trust, promote cooperation, and properly
settle our differences with a view of promoting the sound development of
bilateral relations," Li said.
Defense
Budget
China's defense budget is much smaller than that of the
United States despite the expected rise of 14.7 percent this year, Li said
at the press conference.
The per capita defense budget of China is only
one-seventy- seventh that of the United States, he said.
The increase
will bring China's defense budget to 280.729 billion yuan (35 billion U.S.
dollars) in 2006.
People should learn to see through the figure and seek
basic facts behind the percentage, Li said. It is well known that China
takes a defensive strategy, the minister said.
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