Six-Party talks in Beijing agree on North Korean verification mechanism; Beijing: Political dialogue “only correct path” for resolution of Zimbabwe issue; China and Mexico establish strategic dialogue mechanism
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  • The chief delegates to the Six-Party Talks on the Korean nuclear issue met in Beijing during the week. The head of the Chinese delegation, Wu Dawei announced the verification mechanism for North Korean disarmament to be made up of experts from six nations, and included such measures as visits to facilities, review of documents and interviews with technical personnel. A monitoring mechanism would also be set up to ensure fulfillment of the respective commitments of each nation on non-proliferation as well as on economic and energy assistance to the DPRK1.

    Commenting on the ongoing political crisis in Zimbabwe, the Chinese government stated that “political dialogue and negotiation” was the “only correct path” to solve the problem. Liu Jianchao, the spokeman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry called on the parties concerned to seek compromise and cooperation via dialogue and negotiation. China, along with Russia, South Africa, Libya and Vietnam vetoed a US-draft resolution in the UN Security Council which was intended to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe due to the controversies generated in the aftermath of the country’s presidential elections2.

    The Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo, in his interactions with Mostafa Osman Ismail, the foreign affairs secretary and presidential advisor of the National Congress Party (NCP) of Sudan, promised to continue cooperation with the country. Ismail on his part expressed his gratitude for the China’s ‘constructive’ efforts in pushing for a settlement of the Darfur issue3.

    The Chinese government meanwhile, before the Olympics, was expanding its anti-terror training programmes with allied countries. Special troops from Thailand participated in ‘Strike-2008’ exercises in Thailand’s northern province of Chiang Mai. The previous exercises were conducted in Guangzhou province of China in 20074.

    In other developments, China and Mexico announced the establishment of a strategic dialogue mechanism after a meeting between Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Mexican counterpart Felipe Calderon Hinojosa. Hu put forth a four-point proposal to cement Sino-Mexican relations. These included the strengthening of political dialogue, boosting economic cooperation, increased personnel exchanges in the fields of culture, education, medicine and social developments, and greater cooperation on multilateral issues5.

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