- China has toughened its anti-war stance with President
Jiang Zemin telling US counterpart George W. Bush the international community
has a consensus on Iraq and the issue must be resolved through the Security
Council.
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- "The international community does have a consensus
on the Iraq issue," Jiang told Bush in a telephone conversation Monday,
the official Xinhua news agency reported Tuesday, paraphrasing the Chinese
leader.
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- "Great efforts should be made to maintain the unity
and authority of the UN Security Council and implement the Resolution 1441
(on Iraqi disarmament) well," he said, adding that it was the "foundation
for resolving the crisis".
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- With just days left before the UN Security Council votes
on a new resolution widely seen as paving the way for military action against
Baghdad, Bush reiterated that Iraq posed security concerns to the United
States, Xinhua said.
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- Bush Monday led a frenzied campaign to win votes for
UN approval of war, hoping to salvage at least a symbolic victory in the
face of French and Russian veto threats.
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- While China has clearly stated its opposition to war,
it has not yet threatened a veto.
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- China, along with France, Russia, Britain and the United
States, is a permanent Security Council member with veto powers.
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- Jiang spelt out to Bush that weapons inspections should
be continued and the issue resolved peacefully but also demanded Iraq "comprehensively,
strictly and thoroughly carry out the UN Security Council's resolution".
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- "(It) cannot possess weapons of mass destruction,"
he said, Xinhua reported.
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- Jiang also discussed Iraq with German Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder in another telephone call on Monday evening, the China Daily
said.
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- Both sides agreed that the UN inspectors' work should
not be abandoned.
-
- The frantic phone call diplomacy followed discussions
between Jiang and British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Sunday in which
Jiang insisted the weapons inspectors' most recent report delivered Friday
showed progress had been made.
-
- "If only the weapons inspections are continued and
strengthened, it is possible to achieve the goal of solving the Iraq issue
politically within the UN framework," Jiang said, according to state
television.
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- Jiang told Blair that "war does not hold advantages
for anyone".
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- "Our world is facing many problems, and the problems
will not be solved by relying exclusively on armed force," he said.
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- On Thursday Jiang spoke to French President Jacques Chirac,
agreeing that the door to peace must not be closed.
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- After sitting on the fence for months, China has increasingly
taken an anti-war stance alongside France, Russia and Germany.
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- Britain has stood by the United States in pushing for
military strikes against Iraq if it does not comply fully with the UN resolution.
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- Beijing has long enjoyed friendly relations with Iraq,
but is also keen to not jeopardize relations with the United States, which
have improved in the past year following a rocky period.
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