1. President Hu Jintao Meets with U.S. President Bush
2. Vice Premier: China Still Attractive to Investors
3. China Opposes U.S. Support for Taiwan in the WHO
4. Huge Investment in Three Gorges to Pay off

Summary

Meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush on the sidelines of the informal South-North leaders dialogue meeting in Evian, France on the afternoon of June 1, Chinese President Hu Jintao said that China would work together with the United States to push forward the China-U.S. constructive relations of cooperation.

On May 29, Chinese Vice-Premier Wu Yi told Stuart Levernick, vice-president of Caterpillar Investment Co. Ltd., that after the outbreak of SARS a few foreign commerce delegations had postponed or canceled visits to China, and some foreign workers had been called home, which was understandable. She stressed that SARS will not shake China’s confidence or its economic progress and the country still has the world’s most attractive investment environment.

On the signing of a motion adopted by U.S. Congress in support of Taiwan’s participation in WHO, the World Health Organization, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue expressed the Chinese government’s strong opposition to it on May 31 and urged the U.S. to stop pushing the motion and not to set out obstacles to the development of China-U.S. relations.

On June 1, 19 gates at the bottom of the Three Gorges dam on China’s Yangtze River were closed one by one. With the water level in the reservoir rising steadily to135 meters in two weeks, the world’s largest water control project is expected to bring initial benefits soon. Power generators will start and a total of 5.5 billion kilowatt of electricity will be produced by the end of the year. Shanghai and other major cities and industrial bases in more than 20 provinces will benefit from the electricity. By 2009, the Yangtze embankments in the most flood-prone Jingjiang section will be able to cope with devastating floods occurring once every 100 years and some 15 million people will be relieved of the frequent flooding forever.

1. President Hu Jintao Meets with U.S. President Bush

           On the afternoon of June 1, Chinese President Hu Jintao met with U.S. President George W. Bush on the sidelines of the informal South-North leaders dialogue meeting in Evian, France.

Hu said that as two important nations in the world, China and the United States bear major responsibility for maintaining peace and stability in the world and promoting common development of mankind. The two sides have extensive mutual benefits and the basis for cooperation on issues such as the fight against terrorism, crackdown on cross-border crimes, promotion of global economic growth, disease treatment and control and environmental protection. China would work together with the United States to push forward the China-U.S. constructive relations of cooperation.

Bush said the U.S.-China relations have enjoyed steady and healthy development. China is a great nation, with bright prospects. The U.S. is willing to enhance cooperation with China in the fight against terrorism, economy, trade and other fields and will continue to be devoted to developing constructive relations of cooperation with China.

Briefing Bush on China’s fight against severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), President Hu emphasized that in the face of the sudden outbreak of the disease, the Chinese government and people have worked in unity and taken decisive measures, with good results achieved. He expressed the belief that after a certain period, China will effectively control the epidemic and eventually win the battle against it.

Bush spoke highly of China’s great efforts and outstanding achievements in the fight against SARS and said the United States would continue to offer support and help to China in this regard.

President Hu reiterated China’s principled stand on the Taiwan issue. He stressed that the Taiwan issue is always the most important and most sensitive core issue in the Sino-U.S. relations. Upholding the basic principles of “peaceful reunification” and “one country, two systems,” the Chinese government will do its utmost to strive for reunification through peaceful means. The problem now is that the Taiwan authorities reject the One-China principle and the “pro-independence forces” in Taiwan are still carrying out all-out separatist activities. This has been the fundamental reason behind the tension in the Taiwan Straits region and the stagnation of cross-straits relations. Hu expressed the hope that the United States will strictly abide by its commitments on the Taiwan issue, handle the issue properly and not send wrong signals to the “pro-independence forces.”

Bush said the U.S. government will continue to follow the One-China policy, abide by the three joint communiqués between the two countries and oppose “independence of Taiwan.” This policy has not changed and will not change.

On the nuclear issue of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Bush praised China’s positive efforts leading to the convening of Beijing talks. Hu also briefed Bush on China’s stance on the issue. The two leaders said the two countries would dedicate themselves to safeguarding peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and support the non-nuclearization of the peninsula. Problems should be solved peacefully through dialogue, and communication and cooperation should be maintained towards that end.

Bush invited Hu to visit the United States at a convenient time. Hu thanked Bush for the invitation and said that he would visit the U.S. at an appropriate time and invited Bush to visit China again. He also said that China welcomes Vice President Dick Cheney visiting China sometime later this year. Bush replied that he would be glad to visit China again and Cheney is looking forward to his trip to China.

2. Vice Premier: China Still Attractive to Investors

The SARS outbreak will not shake China’s confidence or its economic progress and the country still has the world’s most attractive investment environment, said Vice-Premier Wu Yi on May 29.

Meeting with Stuart Levernick, vice-president of Caterpillar Investment Co. Ltd., Wu said that after the outbreak of SARS, a few foreign commerce delegations had postponed or canceled visits to China, and some foreign workers had been called home, which was understandable.

Meanwhile, most foreign business people stayed in China and joined their Chinese colleagues in fighting against the epidemic and continuing normal production and management. Many foreign businesses made donations to China’s anti-SARS work, Wu said, expressing the Chinese government’s gratitude.

Wu said China had done its best to eradicate the disease as soon as possible and to protect the health and safety of everyone, including foreign business people.

Now that the situation was more stable and normal life was returning, the governments at all levels were taking measures to attract foreign investment, including making more use of the Internet, solving problems for foreign businesses, and allowing more time for foreign investors to fulfill their duties, Wu said.  

The China would eventually bring SARS under control, safeguarding foreign investors’ health and safety and maintaining its economic growth, said Wu, adding that the unexpected outbreak had prompted China to improve the transparency and efficiency of its administration.

Levernick briefed the vice-premier on his company’s operations in China. He said Caterpillar, after years of good cooperation with China, regarded the country as its home, and it was natural to come back “home” at such a moment. His trip demonstrated Caterpillar’s strong confidence in investing in China, a rapidly growing market.

Caterpillar is the world’s largest heavy equipment and engine manufacturer, and also one of the first U.S. companies to invest in China. It participated in the construction on almost all of China’s major projects since 1985, including the Three Gorges Dam Project, the Qinghai-Tibet Railroad, the transmission of natural gas from west China to its east and the diversion of water from the south to the north.

3. China Opposes U.S. Support for Taiwan in the WHO

The Chinese government strongly opposes the signing of the motion adopted by the U.S. Congress in support of Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Organization (WHO) and urged the U.S. to stop pushing the motion, said Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue on May 31.

U.S. President Bush recently signed a motion adopted by the U.S. Congress in support of Taiwan’s joining the WTO, but at the same time alleged that the United States had not changed its one-China policy.

Zhang said the China had repeatedly lodged solemn representations to the U.S. concerning the motion and was strongly opposed to the signing of it.

Taiwan was part of China, Zhang said, and Taiwan was not eligible to join the WHO as a member or a quasi-member, or participate in any WHO activity as an observer, according to the relevant UN resolutions and the WHO regulations.

At the 56th World Health Assembly that concluded recently, Taiwan failed in its seventh attempt to participate in the WHO, Zhang said, which demonstrated the common understanding and clear attitude of the international community on this issue.

The central government of China had always been concerned about the health of Taiwan people and actively promoted exchanges and cooperation in the health sector across the Taiwan Straits. Taiwan had easy access to health information, Zhang added.

In regard to preventing and treating SARS, Taiwan authorities had turned down donations from the mainland, regardless of the health and safety of the Taiwan people.

The true purpose of the Taiwan authorities in joining the WHO was to create “two Chinas” or “one China, one Taiwan”, but their attempt was doomed to failure, Zhang noted.

She urged the U.S. government to comply with the will of the international community, to clearly recognize the political motives of the Taiwan authorities, to abide by the one-China policy and the principles of three joint communiqués, to stop all actions in support of Taiwan’s participation in the WHO, and not to set out obstacles to the development of China-U.S. relations.

4. Huge Investment in Three Gorges to Pay off

With the sluice gates closing down and the water level in the reservoir rising steady, the Three Gorges Project, the world’s largest water control project, is expected to bring initial benefits soon.

Between zero hour and 9:20 a.m. on June 1, the gates of 19 of the 22 water diversion holes at the bottom of the Three Gorges dam, located on the upper reaches of China’s longest river Yangtze, were closed one by one. The water level in the reservoir, which went up to 106 meters that morning, will reach 135 meters in two weeks.

Although the entire Three Gorges Project will not be completed until 2009, it will start to play an important role in flood control, power generation, navigation, water diversion and environmental protection this year, Chinese experts say.

The 193-km-long Three Gorges, consisting of the Qutang Gorge, Wuxia Gorge and Xiling Gorge, is famed for steep terrain and picturesque landscape. The Yangtze River, after running all the way through the narrow gorges, helped turn the plains along its middle and lower reaches into China’s most fertile land, but at the same time also frequently haunted local residents with devastating floods. The latest Yangtze flooding in the summer of 1998 claimed some 1,000 lives and caused losses in tens of billions of dollars.

To effectively control floodwater flowing down from the upper reaches of the Yangtze has been a long-cherished dream of the Chinese. It also turned out to be the greatest motivation for the Chinese government to begin constructing the gigantic Three Gorges Project in 1994.

During the impending flood season, the Three Gorges reservoir will be able to store some 2.3 to 3.1 billion cubic meters of Yangtze floodwater by adjusting the water level between 135 and 140 meters. When its water level reaches 175 meters as designed in 2009, the reservoir will boast a floodwater storage capacity of 22.15 billion cubic meters. As a result, the Yangtze embankments in the most flood-prone Jingjiang section, which now could only stand severe flooding seen once a decade, will be able to cope with devastating floods occurring once every 100 years. By that time, the affluent Jianghan Plain and Dongting Lake Plain in central China, which are home to some 15 million people, will be forever relieved of the agonies inflicted by frequent flooding.

Power generators would start two months later, and by the end of the year, a total of 5.5 billion kilowatt of electricity will be produced. Shanghai is expected to be the first beneficiary of the Project. Major Chinese cities and industrial bases in more than 20 provinces will benefit from the electricity.