China and the United States yesterday agreed to redouble their efforts to free the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons.

The agreement to push ahead with the next round of the Six-Party Talks followed a 4-hour meeting between Vice-Foreign Minister Wu Dawei and US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill in Beijing.

However analysts say the talks cannot continue unless the US drops its sanctions on companies based in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), a demand insisted on by Pyongyang.

Both nations agreed "it is of the common interests of concerned parties to establish a mechanism of lasting peace in Northeast Asia and to realize the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao at a regular news conference yesterday.

Hill's Beijing visit launches a new round of shuttle diplomacy that aims to kick-start the stalled Six-Party Talks, which involve the US, the DPRK, China, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Russia and Japan.

It is expected that Paek Nam-sun, the DPRK's foreign minister, will visit China between May 30 and June 6 at the invitation of Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing.

On Tuesday Li met Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso, the Foreign Minister of ROK Ban Ki-moon and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the fifth ministerial conference of Asia Co-operation Dialogue in Doha.

China has been making efforts to break the stalemate in the Six-Party Talks and will continue to promote the process, Liu said.

Referring to criticism from some countries that China has made "slow efforts" in the talks due to other motivations, Liu said: "We can't accept such accusations China actively promotes the talks solely for the purpose of maintaining the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula. We don't seek any benefit from the talks."

The last session of the talks ended with a standoff when the DPRK accused the US of imposing economic sanctions.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman yesterday also once more angrily rejected US assertions that China's military spending lacks transparency, and urged the Pentagon to give up its "cold war mentality."

He said China has always adopted a responsible and sincere attitude towards military exchanges and communications with other countries in an effort to enhance mutual trust.

However some nations including the US have played up the "Chinese military threat," cliaming China's military development lacks transparency.

Liu said Beijing could not accept such accusations, adding that China has released its military budget to the world and has been sticking to that budget according to its law.

"What grounds do you have if you doubt the reliability of our military budget?" Liu asked.

He stressed that China is a peace-loving nation and has insisted on peaceful development with a national defence policy that is defensive in nature.

Source: China Daily