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060710
MDHIAN 3378
FOREIGN POLICY
14.
LI PENG CONCLUDED HIS REPORT WITH AN OVERVIEW OF CHINA'S FOREIGN POLICY OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS. CHINA'S RELATIONS WITH ITS NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES MERITED SPECIFIC MENTION: STEADILY IMPROVING RELATIONS WITH JAPAN, ESTABLISHMENT OF DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH SOUTH KOREA, RESTORING OF RELATIONS WITH VIETNAM, COOPERATION WITH RUSSIA AND THE OTHER INDEPENDENT REPUBLICS OF THE FSU. CHINA'S OBSERVER STATUS AT THE NAM AND INCREASED COOPERATION WITH THE GROUP OF 77 WAS MENTIONED. RELATIONS WITH WESTERN COUNTRIES WERE BEING RESUMED AND GRADUALLY IMPROVED AFTER A DIFFICULT PERIOD, AND HIGH LEVEL POLITICAL CONTACTS HAD BEGUN. THERE WAS NO CRITICISM OF FRANCE OR THE US, BUT A STATEMENT THAT OBSTACLES IN US/CHINA RELATIONS COULD BE OVERCOME BY ABIDING BY THE THREE JOINT COMMUNIQUES. LI PENG MENTIONED CHINA'S ROLE IN THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL, AND THE EFFORTS IT HAD MADE TO HELP FIND A SOLUTION TO THE CAMBODIA PROBLEM. IN THE FIELD OF DISARMAMENT, CHINA HAD OFFICIALLY ACCEDED TO THE NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY AND HAD JUST SIGNED THE CONVENTION ON THE PROHIBITION OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS. ON HUMAN RIGHTS, LI REITERATED CHINA'S POSITION THAT RESPECT FOR AND PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS WAS A MATTER WITHIN EACH COUNTRY'S SOVEREIGNTY (WHICH WAS GREETED BY APPLAUSE FROM THE DELEGATES), AND THAT CHINA WAS OPPOSED IN THE USE OF HUMAN RIGHTS TO INTERFERE IN OTHER COUNTRIES' INTERNAL AFFAIRS. I HAVE REPORTED
SEPARATELY LI'S COMMENTS ON HONG KONG AND TAIWAN.
COMMENT
15. WE WILL SENT A DETAILED COMMENT LATER, WHEN WE HAVE DIGESTED THE REPORT AND DISCUSSED IT WITH COLLEAGUES. OUR INITIAL REACTION IS THAT THERE WERE NO SURPRISES IN THE REPORT, WHICH COVERED THE AREAS WE HAD EXPECTED. IT WAS AN UPBEAT AND PRAGMATIC ACCOUNT OF CHINA'S PAST PERFORMANCE AND ITS ROAD AHEAD. NOT SURPRISINLY, THERE WAS NO MENTION OF POLITICAL REFORM, WHICH REMAINS AN AREA WHICH THE LEADERSHIP CANNOT YET TACKLE. THE PASSAGES ON GOVERNMENT RESTRUCTURING LEFT MANY PRACTICAL QUESTIONS UNANSWERED BUT THEY MAY BE ADDRESSED BY LUO GAN ON 16 MARCH.
16.
THE ECONOMIC AREAS OF THE REPORT WERE MORE OR LESS PREDICTABLE. THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT THE GROWTH TARGET SET IN THE 8TH FIVE YEAR PLAN WOULD BE RAISED TO 8 OR 9 PER CENT WAS VIRTUALLY INEVITABLE GIVEN THE REALITIES OF CURRENT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: IT IS STILL POSSIBLE THAT IT COULD BE EXCEEDED. LIKEWISE LI'S
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