China's chief negotiator to the Six-Party Talks on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue will meet his counterparts from five other countries in an informal regional conference in Tokyo next week.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told a regular press briefing yesterday that Wu Dawei, also vice-foreign minister, will visit Japan during the conference, which starts on Sunday.

"He will contact the other heads of the delegations to exchange views on the Six-Party Talks," Liu said.

The meeting in Tokyo will be the first gathering for the six chief negotiators since the nuclear negotiations stalled last November.

Liu said the meeting would be a good opportunity for them to ensure an early resumption of the Six-Party Talks.

He said China has consistently maintained that the joint statement adopted at the end of the fourth round of talks should be carried out as soon as possible.

"It conforms to the interests of all parties and is conducive to regional peace and stability," Liu said.

He urged all parties to adhere to the joint statement and co-operate to push forward the early resumption of the talks.

The talks which also involve the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Republic of Korea, the United States, Russia and Japan have been deadlocked largely because of mutual distrust between the United States and the DPRK.

On another topic, Liu said the business delegation to the United States led by Vice-Premier Wu Yi will conduct commercial promotion activities and sign contracts in 14 cities.

Wu will also serve as co-chair for the 17th meeting of the Sino-US Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) on Tuesday in Washington.

Liu said Chinese companies are signing contracts on a wide range of goods and services, including aircraft, software and agricultural and electronic products.

The big purchases are aimed at creating a positive atmosphere for the meeting between President Hu Jintao and his US counterpart George W. Bush in Washington later this month.

Sino-US trade hit US$212 billion last year. China has become the fourth largest export market for the United States, and the United States is China's second largest trade partner.

(China Daily 04/07/2006 page2)