Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi answers reporters' questions. [Xinhua]

BEIJING - Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on Sunday urged the United States to take seriously China's position and respect China's core interests and major concerns with credible steps.

"The United States should properly handle relevant sensitive issues and work with the Chinese side to return the China-US relationship to the track of stable development," Yang told a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC), the country's top legislature.

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He said that the China-US relationship had a good start after President Obama took office last year. However, the US arms sales to Taiwan and US leaders' meeting with the Dalai Lama "caused a serious disturbance to the China-US ties and posed difficulty to the cooperation between the two countries," he said.

"Such a situation is not in the interest of either side, and the responsibility for the difficulty in Sino-US relations does not lie with China," he said.

He said China's position had been announced a few days ago, when US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg and National Security Council Senior Director for Asian Affairs Jeffrey Bader visited China.

"The Chinese side further stated in full its principled position on China-US relations and on major issues, including Taiwan and Tibet related issues," Yang said.

"We pointed out that the relevant moves taken by the United States side had seriously violated the principles set out in the three China-US joint communiques and the China-US joint statement," he said.

"The moves undermined China's core interests and the overall interests of China-US relations, and China is firmly opposed to these moves," he said.

International relations move toward multilateralism, greater democracy

The international relations have undertaken great changes in the first decade of the 21st century, with the world changing toward multipolarity, multilateralism and greater democracy,said Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi here Sunday.

Yang made the remarks at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of China's National People's Congress, or the parliament.

China-Russia ties

The China-Russia oil pipeline is likely to be completed by the end of this year and the project will enter into operation in 2011, Yang said.

Yang said the China-Russia relation is one of the priorities of China's diplomacy and that there is much potential in the practical cooperation and development for both countries.

The two countries support each other on issues concerning core interests. On many major international and regional issues, China and Russia share same or similar views and have close communications, Yang said.

China and Russia signed a series of agreements on energy, oil, natural gas, coal, power, nuclear and high-speed railways last year, Yang said.

Sino-Russia strategic partnership of coordination is a model of international relations, especially of relations between big powers, he said.

China-Russia relationship is mature, stable, healthy and full of vigor at the current stage, Yang said.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and other leaders including top legislator Wu Bangguo and Premier Wen Jiabao will separately hold summit meetings with their Russian counterparts this year, Yang said.

Yang revealed Vice President Xi Jinping will have an official visit to Russia later this month at the invitation of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, and attend the opening ceremony of the Year of the Chinese Language in Russia.

"The high-level meetings or visits between the two countries this year will inject new and great momentum for China-Russia relations," Yang said. "I believe the Sino-Russian relations will be getting better and better."

Global challenges acute

Global challenges such as climate change, energy and resources security and public health security have become increasingly acute, said Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi here Sunday.

Yang made the remarks at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of China's National People's Congress, or the parliament.

China takes active attitude to address East China Sea issue with Japan

China has always taken an active attitude to address the East China Sea issue with Japan, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said here Sunday.

Yang made the remarks at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature.

China has always held that differences between China and Japan on the East China Sea issue should be resolved through consultation and negotiation, so as to safeguard the China-Japan strategic and mutually beneficial relations, and ensure the fundamental interests of people in both countries, Yang said.

China has taken an active attitude, instead of a passive one, in addressing the issue, he said.

He said China and Japan had reached a principled consensus on the East China Sea issue, adding that both sides should honor the spirits of the principled consensus and create conditions for its implementation, in order to make the East China Sea a "sea of peace, friendship and cooperation."

Under a China-Japan principled consensus on the East China Sea issue, reached in June 2008, the two sides will, through joint exploration, select by mutual agreement areas for joint development in the block mentioned by the consensus under the principle of mutual benefit.