US President George W. Bush met with visiting Chinese Vice-Premier Wu Yi at the White House on 21 April and reiterated that the United States sticks to the one-China policy.

      Bush told Wu that there is no change in the position he stated about the Taiwan issue when he met with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabaoin the Oval Office of the White House on Dec. 9 last year.

      "We oppose any unilateral decision by either China or Taiwan to change the status quo, and the comments and actions made by the leader of Taiwan indicate that he may be willing to make decisions unilaterally to change the status quo, which we oppose," Bush said at a joint appearance with Wen at that time.

      In his meeting with Vice-Premier Wu, President Bush also said he was pleased with the positive outcome of the 15th session of the China-US Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT), a bilateral consultation mechanism set up in 1983 to deal with trade and commerce issues between the two countries.

      Bush said the US side fully recognizes the importance of economic and trade cooperation to the relationship between the two countries, and hopes to further expand trade with China and bring more benefits to the two peoples through continuous development of bilateral economic and trade relations.

      Wu, who co-chaired the one-day JCCT meeting on Wednesday with US Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans and Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, said the Chinese side was pleased with the progress made in Sino-US relations in recent years.

      She urged the US side to exercise prudence in handling the Taiwan issue and abide by its commitments in the three joint communiques to ensure steady progress in the Sino-US relationship.

      Speaking of bilateral trade, Wu said China, the biggest developing country in the world, and the United States, the biggest developed country, have a great potential in economic and trade cooperation.

      Both sides should always treat their relationship from a strategic and long-term perspective and in the spirit of mutual respect and seeking common ground while reserving difference, she said.

      The two sides should also address each other's concerns and broaden common interests through more exchanges and cooperation, Wu added.

      The Chinese vice-premier expressed the hope that the United States will recognize China's market economy status at an early date and lift its export restrictions on high-tech products to facilitate development of economic and trade relations between the two countries.

      The success of the just-ended JCCT consultation is the result of common efforts, she said. It is another testimony that China and the United States could settle their economic and trade issuesproperly and further advance their cooperation if both sides show mutual understanding and compromises, Wu added.

        Senior officials from China and the United States on Wednesday wound up their one-day consultation on economic and trade issues after signing eight documents designed to boost economic and trade relations between the two countries.

    The consultation, officially known as the 15th session of the China-US Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT), was jointly chaired by Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi, US Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans and Trade Representative Robert Zoellick. US Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman also took part in the talks.

    The Chinese and US officials also agreed to set up six working groups within the framework of the JCCT, a mechanism established in 1983, to deal with issues such as China's market economy status, trade remedy measures and protection of intellectual property rights.

    "The meeting proved to be a complete success," Vice Premier Wu said at a joint press conference held after the talks.

    She said China attaches great importance to its relationship with the United States, and economic and trade ties are an important part of the relationship.

    China and the United States have become each other's major trading partners and complement each other greatly in economy witha broad prospect for cooperation, she noted.

    Economic and trade cooperation between China and the United States is not a zero-sum game but a win-win relationship of mutualbenefit, Wu said, adding that the Chinese side is prepared to workwith the United States to advance such cooperation in various fields through better communication and mutual understanding.

    Wu said it is not unusual that some trade disputes or friction have appeared during the rapid development of Sino-US economic and trade relations.

    What is important, she stressed, is that both sides should treat and handle these issues from a strategic and long-term perspective and show mutual understanding and compromises to avoidthe politicization of pure economic and trade issues.

    Wu recalled that Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao proposed five principles for guiding Sino-US economic and trade cooperation during his official visit to the United States in December last year.

    The core elements of these principles, she said, are development, equality and mutual benefit. China hopes that the JCCT could serve as "a very good platform" for advancing bilateral economic and trade cooperation, the vice premier added.

    "This is a landmark day and a very fruitful day in terms of the developing relationship between the United States and China," Secretary Evans said at the press conference.

    US officials said the United States will continue to make efforts to expand and strengthen its comprehensive economic and trade relations with China.

    The just-ended JCCT meeting, they said, has showed that China is also committed to a stronger economic and trade relationship with the United States.

    With rapid and steady economic growth, China has become one of the engines to sustain global economic growth and established a more solid basis for US-China economic and trade cooperation, they said.

(xinhua news)