The question of Taiwan will be central to bilateral talks during US Secretary of State Colin Powell's visit, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said at a regular press conference in Beijing Thursday.

Zhang said the issue is the most important and sensitive one in relations between the two countries. China urges the US to follow its pledge to stick to a "One China" policy and the Three Joint Communiqués and to oppose Taiwanese independence.

The US was called on to cease all diplomatic ties with Taiwan and all military connections, including weapons sales. China pressed for the sending of ambivalent messages about Taiwan to end in order for relations with the US to develop smoothly.

Zhang said that Powell's visit will be crucial in promoting bilateral relations and that China is looking forward to exchanging views on issues of common concern, such as the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue and anti-terrorism campaigns.

As two major nations in the world and permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, China and the US have many shared areas of interest and both have a responsibility to help maintain world peace, Zhang added.

She also wants all countries to make a contribution to the integration of the textile trade in line with the Uruguay Round of trade talks that were held in 1994 among World Trade Organization (WTO) members and other countries.

The European Union will eliminate quota restrictions on Chinese textile imports next year, but will raise their tariff rate from 9 to 12 percent. According to the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, signed during the Uruguay Round, WTO members will replace quotas on textile imports with tariffs from January 1, 2005.

In another development, Zhang announced that China will attend the international conference on Iraq on November 22-23 in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh along with the Iraqi interim government, Iraq's neighbors, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Group of Eight and other regional organizations.

China hopes that Iraq can be stabilized and general elections held as scheduled, "So as to elect a government with wide representation and gradually develop its reconstruction process."

The conference will discuss the implementation of relevant UN resolutions, economic aid to Iraq and reconstruction, Egyptian presidential spokesman Maged Abdel Fattah announced on Wednesday.

Referring to the consultation on Sino-Japan disputes over the East China Sea, scheduled for October 25, Zhang said the two sides should "further increase mutual understanding through calm dialogue and consultation."

The Chinese delegation will be headed by Cui Tiankai, director-general of the Foreign Ministry's Department of Asian Affairs, and the Japanese delegation by Mitoji Yabunaka, director-general of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

Commenting on the Korean nuclear issue, Zhang said North Korea is willing to resolve the nuclear issue through the six-party talks and pledged more efforts for their early resumption.?

(Xinhua News Agency, CRI October 22, 2004)