Lima, January 27, 2005

The Vice-President of the People’s Republic of China, Zeng Qinghong met at the Andean Community General Secretariat in Lima, Peru on January 27, 2004 with the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers, chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Peru, Ambassador Manuel Rodríguez Cuadros, and consisting also of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bolivia, Doctor Juan Ignacio Siles del Valle, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, Doctor Carolina Barco Isakson, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela, Doctor Alí Rodríguez Araque, and the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador, Ambassador Edwin Jonson López, to evaluate the current status of and prospects for deepening the political, economic, social and cooperative relations between China and the Andean Community. Andean Community Secretary General, Ambassador Allan Wagner Tizón, participated in the meeting also.

In their dialogue, the two parties ratified their interest in strengthening and deepening their relations, with a view to increasing bilateral trade flows to promote economic growth and, through that growth, boosting sustainable development with social cohesion and welfare.

The two parties clearly shared a coinciding view of international relations grounded in multilateralism and full respect for international standards and commitments and, based on that shared vision, confirmed their will to cooperate with each other politically.

The Andean Foreign Ministers expressed their wish for the People’s Republic of China to contribute heavily to the Andean presence in the Asia-Pacific region and their will to facilitate China’s approach to the South American Community of Nations.

Vice-President Zeng Qinghong explained Taiwan’s current status and the drafting of the antisecession bill by the Chinese Parliament. The Andean Foreign Ministers, for their part, reaffirmed the adherence of their respective States to the single China policy and their support for the government of the People’s Republic of China in its effort to reunify the Chinese homeland under the “peaceful reunification” and “one country, two systems” formula and their support for the just measures adopted to defend its national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

In pointing up the results achieved within the framework of the Mechanism for Political Consultation and Cooperation, the two parties stressed the priority they attribute to the execution of concrete projects to increase trade, promote investment, develop energy and technology, protect the environment, ensure sustainable development, and combat worldwide drug trafficking, as well as their willingness to implement these projects through the Mechanism for Political Consultation and Cooperation.