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Chinese Ambassador meets students at Kazakh State University
On March 16, 2001 Ambassador of the China in Kazakhstan Yao Peisheng took part in the meeting with the students at the Faculty of International Affairs of Al-Farabi Kazakh State University in Almaty, where he delivered a lecture on Kazakhstan – Chinese relations. In his speech he focused on the economic cooperation between two countries, a political alliance of China with Kazakhstan and other Central Asian Republics. He especially stressed significance of political activities within the frame of the Shanghai Five agreement. Generally he described the Kazakh-Chinese bilateral relations as "stable cooperation". Speaking about the problem of the State borders between two countries and the fact of the return by Kazakhstan of some parts of disputable territories along the border line to China, he said that in this case both Kazakhstan and China acted on the basis of International law. His answers the teachers' and students' questions were more diplomatic rather than informative, but he did not try to hide his anti-American mood. He criticized the American plans of anti-missile defense. He said: "This system only seems to be defensive, but actually aims at getting new level of developing military technology". Answering the question how he could explain 18% increase of the military budget, Ambassador said that this increase is not too great if we consider it per head of the population of China. He also said that nobody criticizes the USA when they increase the military expenditures but everybody notices when China does this. "The Americans are very much concerned about very rapid development of China. They think one day China will threaten the USA."- he said, - "Now the USA do whatever they want. Their final goal is achieving a hegemony. They believe that only weapon would help them in attaining this object. And I think the American administration will never change its strategy". Yao Peisheng referred to his interview to the newspaper "Delovaya nedelia" (16 February 2001) when he was asked about the Kazakh-Chinese contradictions in exploiting the rivers on the frontier regions like the River Black Irtish. He said all problems will be resolved in the process of consultations between two sides. "I understand that you need water very much, but we are also developing our Western regions and also need water", - he said. Ambassador Yao Peisheng did not discuss the most sensitive problem of the situation with human rights in China and especially the repressive policy of the Chinese authorities in the neighboring Xinjiang-Uygur Autonomous Region (Eastern Turkestan), where the local Muslim Uygurs are being a target of the repressive organs of the Chinese Communists. However his opinion on this problem he expressed earlier in his interview to the newspaper "Delovaya nedelia". He stated there that everything was getting well in Xinjiang and the Han-Chinese lived in friendship with the local ethnic minorities - Uygurs and Kazakhs. He said there were no problems in
Xinjiang.
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ETIC REPORT 2000 
