On May 15th, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Jianchao held a regular Press Conference.

Liu: Good afternoon. First of all, I have several pieces of news to announce.

At the invitation of President Hu Jintao, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of the Federative Republic of Brazil will pay a state visit to China May 22nd-27th.

At the invitation of Premier Wen Jiabao of the State Council, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam will pay an official visit to China may 20th-24th.

At the invitation of Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Mompati Merafhe of the Republic of Botswana will pay an official visit to China May 19th-25th.

At last press conference, a journalist from CTI asked about the major members of the Chinese delegation to 57th World Health Assembly. I am told that the chief representative of the Chinese delegation is Mr. Gao Qiang, Executive Minister of Health. Representatives are Ambassador Sha Zukang of the Chinese delegation in Geneva and Mr. Yin Li, Director General of the Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Health. Deputy representatives are from related departments of the Central Government, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Commission of Development and Reform and the Ministry of Agriculture. There will also be officials from the Hong Kong and Macao SAR Governments.

Now, I would like to take your questions.

Q: the six party working group's meeting has been going on for one and a half days. What results have been achieved? How long will it last? Have all parties reached agreement on the third round of six party talks before the end of June?

A: The six party working group's meeting has been going on for one and a half days. Now, the meeting is still in process.

At the meeting, all parties made candid and serious presentations, elaborating their own positions on related problems. Although there still exist differences on some questions, even major differences sometimes, we have also noticed that there are new contents in the statements of all parties.

We hope that all parties can continue to be flexible and patient, seek common ground while shelving differences in the spirit of understanding and cooperation and see more of the positive side in the statement of related parties. We also hope that all parties can have thorough discussion so as to find a solution.

As to how long the meeting will last, it depends on the progress of the meeting and the consensus of all parties. There is still some time before the conclusion of the meeting. I will timely inform you of the latest information that I know.

Q: Xinhua News Agency today quoted the Foreign Ministry as saying that all parties to the first working group's meeting held in-depth and useful discussion on issues of common concern. Could you elaborate on that? Could you brief us on the major disagreements? Apart from that, what is the position of the Chinese side on CVID? What is the position of the Chinese side on the DPRK's uranium program and plutonium program? Could you clarify whether the DPRK has these programs?

A: I have not read the report that you mentioned. At the meeting, all parties did talk candidly and seriously, which is helpful to promote their mutual understanding of each other and of each other's positions. Right now, the meeting is still continuing. All parties will further elaborate their attitudes and positions. I believe that all parties will continue to make efforts to find a solution acceptable to all parties.

CVID is proposed by the US side. Parties still have different views on the scope of denuclearization and the ways of verification. We hope that with the development of the process, parties can find a solution acceptable to all.

the Chinese side maintains that the overall objective for resolving the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula is to realize denuclearization of the peninsula, that is, to bring about a Korean peninsula free of nuclear weapons in any form.

Q: just now you said that there were differences between parties at this working group's meeting, but there were also new contents in their statements. Could you elaborate on that?

A: The meeting is still going on. According to the agreement by all parties prior to the meeting, it is not convenient for us to reveal more about the talks in the course of the meeting. I hope I can have the opportunity to give you more information after the meeting.

Q: According to the Japanese side, a Chinese vessel for maritime scientific research entered the Japanese waters without informing the Japanese side beforehand, breaching the agreement reached by China and Japan. What is your comment on this?

A: On the whole, China and Japan have maintained good cooperation in maritime scientific research. The waters where the Chinese vessel entered is disputed area between China and Japan, not the exclusive economic zone of Japan. It is absolutely normal for Chinese vessels to conduct scientific research in the waters.

Q: Now the price of crude oil in international market has exceeded 40 US dollars per barrel. Will this have any negative impact on China's development? Will the Chinese side require OPEC to increase its oil production? President of Kazakhstan is about to visit China. Will the two sides discuss their cooperation in oil pipeline?

A: You'd better refer your first question to economic authorities.

As for the second question, I think the two sides will discuss oil cooperation when President of Kazakhstan visits China. Energy cooperation is an important component of the economic and trade relations between the two countries. The Chinese side attaches great importance to constantly strengthening its cooperation with Kazakhstan in this field, deeming that to further strengthen the cooperation between the two sides in energy and other important fields serve their common interests and has ample prospect. In recent years, the two sides have maintained good cooperation on Aktobe oil and gas development project. At present, the two sides are actively discussing building oil pipeline from Atasu, Kazakhstan to Ala Mountain, China. The Chinese side hopes to strengthen its oil and gas cooperation with Kazakhstan on the basis of equality and mutual benefit.

Q: Prime Minister Phan Van Khai is about to visit China. How would you comment on the current China-Viet Nam bilateral relations?

A: In recent years, there have been frequent exchange of high level visits between China and Viet Nam. This forthcoming visit by Prime Minister Phan Van Khai represents another important visit between the two countries this year. During his visit, Premier Wen Jiabao will hold talks with him. Prime Minister Phan Van Khai will also be meeting with President Hu Jintao and other Chinese leaders. Leaders of the two countries will have an in-depth exchange of view about bilateral relations and other questions, in particular, how to strengthen bilateral cooperation. Apart from Beijing, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai will also visit Wuhan and Shenyang.

China and Viet Nam are neighbouring countries with shared borders. The friendly exchanges between the two peoples have a long history. At the turn of centuries, leaders of the two countries decided on the guideline of "long term stability, facing towards the future, good neighbourliness and friendship and comprehensive cooperation". Under this guideline, on the whole, the current China-Viet Nam relations are developing very well. There are close contacts between leaders of the two countries and economic and trade relations have been constantly deepened, with bilateral trade volume rocketing from 32.23 million US dollars in 1992 to more than 4.6 billion US dollars in 2003. Their exchanges and cooperation in other fields have been increasingly enhanced and the boundary issue left over by history is also being gradually solved. The healthy and stable development of China-Viet Nam relations are in conformity with the fundamental interests of the two peoples.

I believe Prime Minister Phan Van Khai's visit will further promote the development of China-Viet Nam relations.

Q: About the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula, in the past several days, all parties have had a series of bilateral and multilateral talks. According to your knowledge, are there any similar talks today between the US and the DPRK or between other countries?

A: In previous talks, no matter the three party talks or the previous two rounds of six party talks, delegations had exchanges and contacts in various forms. So, both bilateral and multilateral consultations are perfectly normal and are foreseeable.

If there are no other questions, thank you for your coming.