(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-01-17 23:23

US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte stressed Thursday that Taiwan's "referendum for UN membership" is a mistake and such "referendum" is a provocative policy of the Taiwan authorities.

He made the remarks at a press conference at the US embassy to China in Beijing. "The United States thinks it certainly would have been preferable not to have such a 'referendum.'"

Negroponte said such a statement had been made by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last month and he was reiterating this.

He said the United States understood the Taiwan question is a core interest to and a core concern of China. "It's not something where one can talk about trade-off with other issues."

He said the United States continued to advocate neither side across the Taiwan Strait take unilateral steps to alter the status quo and encouraged both sides to deal with the issue by peaceful means.

Negroponte reaffirmed the United State's commitment to the three joint US-China communiques. He said they were the basis for US policy toward China as well as the Taiwan Relation Act.

Negroponte arrived on Wednesday for the fifth US-China Strategic Dialogue on Thursday and Friday with Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo. He met with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, respectively, on Wednesday.

On Thursday afternoon, Negroponte went to the southwestern Guizhou Province to attend the US-China Strategic Dialogue together with Chinese  Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo.

Negroponte said he was glad to be invited to the province, the home of Dai, to appreciate other parts of China apart from Beijing.

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