NPC, US Senate step up formal exchange mechanism

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, January 10, 2004

NPC, US Senate step up formal exchange mechanism

China's National People's Congress and the US Senate took yet another step to expand exchanges between them. The two sides established a new conference mechanism at the beginning of the new year in Hawaii. The NPC and the US House of Representatives first created a conference mechanism in 1999.

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China's National People's Congress (NPC) and the Senate of the United States established a formal exchange mechanism early this month, one source with the Chinese NPC said Friday.

The NPC is the fifth partner of such exchange mechanism with the US Senate. The other four are the counterparts from Britain, Canada, Mexico and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The source said that Sheng Huaren, vice-chairman and secretary-general of the NPC Standing Committee, visited Hawaii from Jan. 1 to 3 at the invitation of Ted Stevens, president pro tempore of the US Senate.

Sheng held talks with Stevens and Sen. Daniel Inouye and the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding to formally establish the mechanism, said the source.

According to the memorandum, China's NPC and the US Senate set up a inter-parliamentary group. Sheng will serve as chairman of the Chinese part and Stevens and Inouye will serve as chairman and co-chairman of the US part.

During their talks, the two sides highly valued the Sino-US relations which had maintained an improving and developing momentum.

Sheng said Chinese President Hu Jintao and US President George W. Bush had met twice last year and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao made a successful visit to the United States last December.

Under such circumstances, Sheng said, this mechanism would surely strengthen exchanges and cooperation between the two parliamentary bodies and enhance bilateral constructive cooperation.

The US side said the mechanism was fully supported and authorized by the leaders of the two parties of the Senate, which showed the US side attached high importance to the friendly relationship between the US Senate and the Chinese NPC, according to the source.

To kick off the relationship, the first meeting will be held in August in Beijing and the second meeting will take place next year in Washington DC.

Vice-chairman of the NPC Foreign Affairs Committee Lu Congmin and Yang Jiechi, Chinese Ambassador to the United States were also present at the signing.

The conference mechanism was established against the backdrop of two meetings between President Hu Jintao and US President George W. Bush and Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to the United States at the end of last year.

Since 1999, the NPC and the US House of Representatives have had five conferences, Lu said.

Experts on China-US relations yesterday applauded the move as a good channel for both sides to enhance understanding, dispel misunderstanding and narrow their differences.

Pan Shaozhong, professor of the Foreign Affairs College, said the mechanism will offer a good platform for both sides to discuss major international issues.

"The mechanism will operate effectively if both sides take co-operative attitudes and treat it seriously,"Pan said.

Shen Jiru, professor of the Institute of World Economics and Politics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the two countries should enhance exchanges across the board and parliamentary co-operation is a parcel of it.

"It is easy for the craft brothers to communicate,"Shen said, adding that both the NPC and the US Senate are legislatures.

By People's Daily Online

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