State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan yesterday told a former US official that China and the United States should "earnestly" address the problems in their bilateral relations, especially those relating to the Taiwan question.

Tang was speaking to Samuel Berger, a former national security adviser to the president of the United States under Bill Clinton.

He said the Chinese Government adheres to the basic principles of "peaceful reunification" and "one country, two systems." It will try its best "with the utmost sincerity" to realize peaceful reunification, he added.

However, the Taiwan authorities have not yet accepted the one-China principle and have spared no efforts in carrying out separatist activities both inside and outside Taiwan, Tang said.

He expressed the hope that the United States would honour the commitment it made that it would abide by the one-China policy, stop selling advanced weapons to Taiwan and stop raising the level of US-Taiwan relations. Tang said he hoped Washington would not encourage Taiwan separatists in their attempts to split China.

Berger said he understood the sensitivity of the Taiwan question and supported the one-China policy.

Xinhua

(China Daily 07/29/2003 page1)