China rejects Chen APEC visit

China yesterday bluntly rejected suggestions that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) be allowed to attend the APEC leaders' summit in Shanghai in October.

US trade representative Robert Zoellick, when asked on Tuesday about Chen's request in May to attend the Shanghai summit, said that Chen's presence at the summit would be "constructive."

"In terms of the leaders, I believe there is always an effort to try to have the leaders take part. I certainly think that would be a constructive step," Zoellick told a news conference in Shanghai.

But Chinese officials yesterday bluntly ruled out the possibility of Chen visiting China for the summit.

"It goes against the memorandum of understanding," China's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang Guangya (王光亞), told the Taipei Times when asked to comment on Zoellick's remark.

"All APEC members abide by the document, which was reached in 1991 concerning Taiwan's participation. It's a document endorsed by all APEC members," said Wang as he walked out of the venue yesterday morning where the APEC trade ministers' two-day meeting was held.

Long Yongtu (龍永圖), China's vice minister of foreign trade, gave a similar view in a news conference yesterday afternoon.

"Ever since 1991, there has been an understanding regarding Chinese Taipei's participation in APEC activities. There will be no change. Any comments from any individual APEC members will not result in change," Long said after an informal meeting of APEC trade ministers in Zhouzhuang, west of Shanghai.

Zoellick declined to elaborate on his remarks on Tuesday when approached by reporters in Zhou-zhuang.

Lin Hsin-yi (林信義), Taiwan's minister of economic affairs, said Taiwan welcomed Zoellick's support.

Steve Chen (陳瑞隆), vice minister of economic affairs, said some APEC delegates were also in favor of Chen visiting Shanghai. "I've heard from some delegates that they would consider it a constructive arrangement if President Chen were able to take part in the APEC informal leaders' meeting," Chen said.

In a video-taped address in May to mark his first year in office, Chen said he hoped to attend the APEC summit and hold talks with Chinese president, Jiang Zemin (江澤民), but Beijing immediately poured cold water on Chen's proposal.

Taiwan was admitted to APEC in 1991, together with China and Hong Kong, after ten months of intensive negotiations between China, South Korea and Taiwan, with the behind-the-scenes assistance of the US.

South Korea, the host country of the 1991 APEC meetings, then signed a memorandum of understanding with China and another with Taiwan concerning Taiwan's entry into the economic group.

But the 1991 document only stated restrictions affecting Taiwan's participation, including that no foreign ministers from Taiwan can take part in any APEC activities and Taiwan must take part under the name of "Chinese Taipei." It was not until 1993 that the APEC summit was held for the first time in Seattle as the brainchild of then US president Bill Clinton. It was due to strong opposition from China on that occasion that Taiwan's president, premier and vice premier have all been barred from the APEC leaders' summits.

Meanwhile, APEC trade ministers yesterday agreed to call for a new round of trade talks to be launched in a timely manner to boost confidence in the multilateral trading system.