& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

China, US soften tone on sea dispute

Agree to work on a mutual code; remain divided over Syria

AFP, Beijing
China and the United States yesterday stepped back from sparring over the tense South China Sea as the Asian power told Secretary of State Hillary Clinton it would work on a code to manage disputes.
China did not budge on its claims on the South China Sea, but both Beijing and Hillary took a conciliatory tone after weeks of escalating tensions in the strategic waters where Southeast Asian nations have been increasingly alarmed.
Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said that China had "plentiful historical and jurisprudential evidence” for its claims to virtually all of the South China Sea, but sounded upbeat on Hillary's calls for a code of conduct.
Welcoming the US secretary of State in the imposing Great Hall of the People, Yang pointed to his recent tour of several Southeast Asian nations and said that China agreed on the need to "work towards an eventual adoption of a code of conduct" on the basis of consensus.
She denied charges that the growing US military and political focus on Asia was aimed at containing China, saying that President Barack Obama's administration did not want "unhealthy competition".
"Both President Obama and I have said frequently that the United States welcomes the rise of a strong, prosperous and peaceful China," said Hillary, who spoke with Yang on Tuesday at a dinner that stretched past midnight.
The Philippines and Vietnam have accused an increasingly assertive China of running a campaign of intimidation
to exert its claims in the South China Sea, through which around half of the world's cargo passes.
The United States has rallied behind the Southeast Asian nations and sharply criticised Beijing1 s recent establishment of a remote garrison in the South China Sea, through which
half of the world's cargo flows.
The show of conciliation stands in marked contrast to the tone of China's state-run press which has ripped into the United States almost daily ahead of Hillary1 s visit.
Just as Hillary was meeting Chinese leaders, the overseas edition of the People's Daily warned Wednesday against the United States "sowing discord" among China's neighbours, calling such a strategy "a counterproductive waste".
On the bloodshed in Syria, Yang said that China supported a "transition" and was not attached to President Bashar al-Assad but warned against outside interference and said that history will judge China's position positively.
Hillary repeated criticism of China, and Syria's main backer Russia, for vetoing UN draft resolutions that would have pressured Assad to end the conflict, which activists say has killed more than 26,000 people.
Hillary met President Hu Jintao and much of the top leadership but Vice President Xi Jinping — who is expected to take power next year — called off talks at the last minute.
While China has in the past used abrupt cancellations to show displeasure, the two sides played down the absence of Xi, who also called off other meetings, and had made friendly gestures during a visit to the United States this year.
Yang warned against "unnecessary speculation". Hillary later met with Vice Premier Li Keqiang, who is widely expected to become premier under Xi.
China scheduled the meeting with Li to ensure that Clinton meets with a key figure in the leadership transition, a US official said.