BEIJING, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu
Jintao and his U.S. counterpart George W. Bush held a telephone conversation
Tuesday, during which they discussed the latest massive earthquake in southwest
China, bilateral ties and Tibet.
Bush said the United States expressed deep concerns
over the quake in Sichuan province and sympathy toward the Chinese people, and
is willing to provide any possible assistance for disaster relief.
Hu extended his thanks to Bush, adding that the
Chinese people feel deeply sorrowful about the loss of lives of their
compatriots in the strong quake.
The Chinese government is sparing no efforts in
disaster relief, rescuing the injured, properly arranging the daily life of the
people in the disaster areas so that social order there can be restored as soon
as possible, Hu said.
A 7.8-magnitude quake rocked Wenchuan county, 159 km
northwest of the Sichuan province's capital of Chengdu, at 2:28 p.m. (0628 GMT)
Monday, killing thousands of people in eight affected provinces.
Hu said China-U.S. ties, under the joint efforts of
both sides, have moved forward continuously in recent years.
The leaderships of the two countries and officials at
other levels have carried out frequent visits, while exchanges and cooperation
in various fields have made progress, he added.
Hu expressed hope that the fourth-round China-U.S.
strategic economic dialogue next month in Washington will produce positive
results.
"I would like to, together with President Bush, make
the China-U.S. constructive and cooperative ties develop in a continuous,
healthy and steady way," he said,
Hu also outlined China's stance on the Tibet issue.
He said the Tibet issue is one of China's internal affairs, and affects the
feelings of the Chinese people.
We hope the U.S. side would tackle related issues
with an objective and fair-minded attitude and in a cautious and proper way, and
understand and support China's justified stance, Hu added.
Hu and Bush also expressed their expectation toward
their meetings at the dialogue between G8 and some developing countries in
Japan's Hokkaido in July as well as during the Beijing Olympic Games in
August.
WASHINGTON, May 13 (Xinhua) -- The White House announced
on Tuesday that the United States will provide 500,000 U.S. dollars in initial
aid to China over a devastating earthquake in southwest China. Full story
CHENGDU, May 13 (Xinhua) -- As of 7 p.m. Tuesday,
southwestern Sichuan Province has reported 12,012 death in Monday's quake,
according to the disaster relief center under the State Council.
Another 9,404 were buried in debris, 7,841 were
missing and 26,206 people were injured, according to the headquarters. Full story
BEIJING, May 14
(Xinhua) -- At least 500 people have been confirmed dead in Wenchuan County, the
epicenter of Monday's earthquake that jolted southwest China's Sichuan Province.
A brigade of 200 armed policemen reached the county
at 11:15 p.m. on Tuesday to carry out disaster relief work, another 470 are
expected to arrive there Wednesday morning. Full story
WASHINGTON, May 4
(Xinhua) -- The Chinese government has made impressive efforts to bring Tibet to
the modern world of the 21st century and preserve its traditional culture, a
U.S. journalist said on Sunday.
David Jones, the interim managing editor of the
Washington Times, said in an email interview with Xinhua that he saw during his
trip to Tibet last September that large sums of money had been put into
repairing temples and building museums. Full story
