Week of October 20, 2000The U.S. and China This Week
INTERNATIONAL: Zhu Stays Away from Official Apology in JapanThough Zhu did say it was wrong for certain elements
in Japan to try to “play down, hide or revise?historical questions, he
did, however, emphasize that Beijing had agreed to put its future focus
on cooperation instead of dwelling on the apology issue. “Our
goal is not to demand an apology,?he said. “Our goal is to look
to the future while drawing lessons from history.?#060;/font>
The Japanese Foreign Minister, Yohei Kono, told
a news conference that he believe the Zhu visit had done much to improve
the Japanese public’s perceptions of China. “He [Zhu] worked very
hard to improve the perception of China among the Japanese people by appearing
on a TV program and exchanging views with many people. With the premier’s
visit, Sino-Japanese relations are heading in the right direction.?Kono
said.
However, Japanese conservatives still critically
noted that Japan had apologized several times and believed Sino-Japan relations
would take time to improve.
INTERNATIONAL: China Seeks to Purchase Two More Destroyers from Russian NavyIf the contract is concluded, the ships will be modernized at the St. Petersburg Severnaya Verf shipyard. Then the Chinese navy will have four Type 956 destroyers. In December 1999 the shipyard supplied the first Type 956-E ship to China. It was named the Vazhnyy. A Chinese crew in the Baltic Sea is now commissioning the second destroyer of this type, the Vdumchivyy. This ship is to start its cruise to the Pacific Ocean in November. The Vdumchivyy is the 19th Type 956 ship built by the Severnaya Verf. Source: AVN Military News Agency web site, Moscow, in English 1248 GMT
Last updated: 20 October 2000 |
