
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 29, 1990                   TAG: 9003290018
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-11   EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: The New York Times
DATELINE: BEIJING                                LENGTH: Medium

CHINA LAUDS BUSH, BUT WON'T CONCEDE

Foreign Minister Qian Qichen said on Wednesday that China appreciated President Bush's attempts to improve U.S.-Chinese relations, but gave no indication that Beijing was willing to make any concessions to improve the relationship.

In a news conference, Qian said that it was up to the United States to take steps to resolve the case of Fang Lizhi, the astrophysicist and human-rights advocate who has taken refuge in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, and he reiterated that "the only way out for Fang Lizhi is to mend his ways and plead guilty."

Asked about efforts in Congress to revoke most-favored-nation tariff status for China, Qian said that that would harm trade and would cause a "major retrogression" in relations.

He called on Washington to act wisely and avoid taking any actions that would harm the relationship.

Throughout the news conference, which was arranged in conjunction with the annual session of the National People's Congress under way in Beijing, Qian avoided the biting attacks on Western countries that have periodically been in vogue since the rise of the hard-liners last year.

While saying that it was up to Washington to take the initiative, he noted that Beijing would like to see improved ties.

"We have always attached importance to the development of Sino-U.S. relations, and we very much want to put relations back on track," Qian said. "We also appreciate President Bush's remarks about putting relations back on course."

Qian said the talks in Beijing in July and December between Chinese leaders and Bush's envoy, the national security adviser Brent Scowcroft, had been helpful but had not eliminated the underlying disagreements.

Asked about reports that the Bush administration is disappointed by the lack of response in Beijing to American concessions, Qian said he believed that Bush did not think that way.

He observed that Bush has publicly welcomed a number of specific steps taken by China.

Noting that Premier Li Peng is scheduled to visit the Soviet Union next month, Qian said the two sides hoped that the visit would advance Chinese-Soviet relations and reach agreements on economic matters and troop reductions on their common border.

by CNB