On the morning of April 25, 2002, Vice Premier Qian Qichen met in Zhongnanhai with Hans Blix, Chairman of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), who is in charge of making related inspections to ensure that Iraq destroys all its weapons of mass destruction.

Qian said that China has always advocated the respect of sovereignty and equality, and the solving of conflicts peacefully through dialogue when dealing with the state-to-state relations. The Iraq issue should be resolved by diplomatic and political means and the leading role of the United Nations should be brought into play. China welcomes and supports any dialogue between the U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Iraq, and is ready to work with all parties to achieve a comprehensive, just and reasonable settlement of the Iraq issue.

Blix praised China for its constructive role on the Iraq issue as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council and thanked China for its support of UNMOVIC. He said the UNMOVIC will carry out its job in accordance with the relevant U.N. resolutions and create conditions to facilitate the settlement of the Iraq issue.