UK: co-ops with Beijing on Olympics

On June 8, the day right after the terrorist attack in London, British Ambassador to China Sir Christopher Hum assured in Beijing of "the most stringent security measures" for the 2012 London Olympics and expressed his hope for "fruitful cooperation between Beijing and London" on preparing for the Olympics 2008 and 2012.

As a person who lives most of his life in London, he said Londoners are "resilient" and will not allow the incident, however horrible it is, to disrupt their lives. "London has gone back to work", he affirmed.

He confirmed that the agendas of the G8 summit will go ahead as planned and all the cultural activities, including the 4-month celebration of Chinese arts in London beginning in January next year, will go ahead as planned.

The only change, he noted, is that a statement scheduled to be issued by the G8 summit yesterday will be issued today.

Yesterday on July 7 the 13 leaders at the summit in Gleneagles in Scotland, that is, the G-8 leaders plus leaders from five developing countries including Chinese President Hu Jintao, issued a statement which condemns "these barbaric attacks", sends their "profound condolences to the victims and their families", and vows to be "united" in their resolve to "confront and defeat this terrorism that is not an attack on one nation but on all nations and on civilized people everywhere."

The same day Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said China would continue to enhance cooperation with the international community in fighting against terrorism.

When meeting British Prime Minister Tony Blair in Gleneagles on July 7, Chinese President Hu Jintao said further development of Sino-UK comprehensive strategic partnership is in the interest of the peoples of both nations and help to promote the peace and development of the whole world.

The 8th China-EU summit will be held in Beijing in the later half of the year. Both China and UK expect the summit to make substantial results. UK has promised to take forward work on issues that China concerns about to further boost the China-EU relations.

When it comes to London Olympics in 2012, Mr. Hum said London has begun to prepare for the 2012 Olympics "from today". The city has learned from Beijing's successful bidding for 2008 Olympics in terms of early planning and professional presentation. He looks forward to seeing "fruitful cooperation between Beijing and London in their preparation for 2008 Olympics and 2012 Olympics".

British companies have engaged in construction of Beijing Olympics venues. Arup, an architecture studio, for example, designs the "Bird¡¯s Nest" Stadium and the "Water Cube" Swimming Center in Beijing.

He also welcomes Chinese tourists to London which is "a mix of old and new". China and UK signed an MOU on UK's Approved Destination Status (ADS) which will take effect soon on July 18. He hopes Chinese tourists would experience "every excitement of London" even before 2012.

By People's Daily Online