AP: China Plans To Resume Rights Talks

Wednesday, 31-Jul-2002 6:00AM

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei (AP) -- Washington and Beijing plan to resume discussions about human rights, one of the biggest sticking points in relations between the two powerful nations.

The plan was announced Wednesday by China's foreign minister and confirmed by U.S. officials.

China and the United States also plan to collaborate on ways to cut off terrorists' financing and reduce the drug trade in their nations, Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan said.

Tang made the announcement after a meeting with Secretary of State Colin Powell on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum.

"We have decided to resume dialogue on human rights issues within this year," Tang said shortly after meeting with Powell. He said the talks "produced very concrete achievements."

John Hanford, U.S. ambassador at large for international religious freedom, will lead the U.S. delegation at the talks on human rights.

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China's official Xinhua News Agency said before the meeting Wednesday that the two diplomats planned to discuss overall ties, anti-terrorism cooperation, environmental issues and regional concerns, among other things.

Human rights were not mentioned in the Xinhua report.

China's human rights policy, and American criticism of it, have formed a centerpiece of U.S.-China difficulties ever since 1989, when pro-democracy protests on Beijing's Tiananmen Square ended in bloodshed. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, died.

In the years afterward, many in the U.S. Congress demanded that renewal of China's "most-favored nation" trade status be contingent on human-rights progress by the communist government. Most-favored nation status by the United States for China is now permanent.

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China and the United States are attending the ASEAN Regional Forum as two of several nations who are not members of the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations but have security interests in the region.

Chinese President Jiang Zemin is scheduled to visit the United States later this year in what many perceive as a farewell trip before his expected retirement.

http://www.ptd.net/webnews/wed/bp/Achina-us.Rt6J_ClV.html