Hu upbeat on Tibet, gas fields

BEIJING--Chinese President Hu Jintao on Sunday told Japanese journalists he hoped his government's negotiations this week with a special envoy to the Dalai Lama would lead to positive results.

Hu Jintao (POOL)

Hu said progress would require not only "spoken promises, but actual deeds," such as stopping calls for Tibetan independence and related violence.

Informal talks between China and the special envoy to the Dalai Lama began Sunday in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province.

In a change from usual practice by Chinese officials, Hu referred to the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader by his full title, rather than an abbreviated form.

Hu spoke in a news conference for the Japanese media ahead of his scheduled five-day visit to Japan that starts Tuesday.

His visit will be the first by a Chinese president since Jiang Zemin arrived in 1998.

Calling his visit "a trip in the warm spring," Hu expressed hope of "pushing forward a relationship of mutual strategic interests."

Hu said he was optimistic that China would offer Japan another giant panda. He referred to a request from the Japanese government following the death last week of Ling Ling, the last surviving giant panda at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo.

"After taking into consideration the Japanese people's hopes and Prime Minister Fukuda's interest in the matter, the relevant agencies are stepping up their consideration," Hu said.

Referring to the sensitive issue of joint development of gas fields in the East China Sea, Hu said, "By the two nations making efforts to cooperate, I believe an appropriate resolution will be reached and the two sides will come up with a method that is acceptable to both sides."

Hu also spoke about the unresolved controversy over tainted gyoza (dumplings) from China. "The Chinese side is viewing this issue gravely, and I hope that the two nations will continue to increase cooperation in the investigation to uncover the cause as soon as possible," Hu said.

Hu also said he would discuss with Fukuda the creation of a long-term bilateral cooperative mechanism to oversee food safety.

Turning to this summer's Beijing Olympics, Hu said he hoped for cooperation to make the Games a success.

"The Beijing Olympics belongs not only to China, but the entire world," Hu said. "If we can gain the support of a wide range of people from countries including Japan, it will be a unique Games offering a high level of competition."

Hu avoided issues of history during the interview, including the controversy related to war-related Yasukuni Shrine.

"In the process of developing our relationship, it is unavoidable that disputes will arise, but what is important is to hold frank discussions," Hu said.(IHT/Asahi: May 5,2008)