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Qian visits US
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VICE-PREMIER Qian Qichen left Beijing yesterday morning for a week-long visit to the United States at the invitation of the US Government.
Qian told reporters before departure that his visit is aimed at promoting the Chinese-US ties from a long-term perspective and materializing the consensuses reached between President Jiang Zemin and US President George W Bush.
In another development, Sun Yafu, assistant director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said on Saturday that a Washington Times report alleging Beijing is building up its missiles to target Taiwan had been fabricated and timed to provide an excuse for arms sales to the island, China News Agency reported yesterday.
The report aims to “magnify the mainland's military threat to Taiwan" and “create an excuse for a certain country to sell more advanced weapons to Taiwan," said Sun.
He made the comments following a Washington Times report that a US spy satellite has detected a newly completed missile base on the Chinese mainland opposite Taiwan.
The United States is currently weighing up a Taiwanese request for advanced weapons, including AEGIS destroyers and PAC-3 defences against short-range missiles.
Sun warned that “a larger sale of more advanced weapons will only stimulate the development of pro-independence forces in Taiwan and thus seriously damage cross-Straits relations".
He said Beijing has to make necessary preparations to combat separatist activities, especially those of pro-independence groups.\(SD-Agencies)
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