PRESS RELEASE

Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Beijing, China

27 November 2000

Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan held talks with visiting Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tarik Aziz on Nov. 27, 2000, during which they had an extensive exchange of views on the Iraqi issue, bilateral relations and regional and international issues of mutual concern.

Aziz briefed Tang on the latest developments of the Iraqi question and the related stance of the Iraqi government. He noted that the United States has since being long adopted an hostile attitude against Iraq and trampled on Iraqi sovereignty and territorial integrity, adding that the United States attempts to overthrow the government of Iraq instead of trying to solve the Gulf issue. Aziz spoke highly of Iraq-China relations and China's principled stance on the Iraqi issue, voicing the hope that China will continue to play an active and important role in seeking a just and rational solution to the issue.

Tang stressed that the Chinese side is concerned about the development of the Iraqi issue, and China sympathizes with the Iraqi people for their sufferings resulting from the long-standing sanctions. He went on to say that China is of the view that any sanction, blockade or strike against another nation is against the people's will and will lead nowhere. He pointed out that the approaches taken by certain western countries to set up "no-fly zones" in Iraq are in violation of the United Nations Charter and norms governing international relations and are in defiance of Iraqi sovereignty. He noted that air raids against Iraq have not only caused serious civilian casualties and massive property losses but also further deteriorated the already intense situation. He pointed out that China strongly condemns such acts. He added that as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China, seeking no self interest, has always adhered to principles and upheld justice on the Iraqi issue and has been striving to remove sanctions against Iraq during the past decade in and out of the Security Council. He said that China will continue to make efforts to this end.

On China-Iraq relations, Tang said that China stands ready to expand friendly cooperation with Iraq in the political, cultural, trade, economic and other areas, intensify mutual visits at various levels and further promote bilateral economic and trade ties between China and Iraq, in particular.