Extracts. Rural CPC Members Close to 30 Million The Communist Party of China (CPC) now has 1.35 million grassroots organizations and 29.5 million members in the vast countryside, who are playing an increasingly important role in rural reforms and development. Latest official statistics show that from 1994 to 2000, a total of three million CPC members in government departments were sent to the rural areas to help promote Party building there, which has gained remarkable results. The training of Party leaders and members in the countryside has also been strengthened in the past few years. At present, nearly 20 million rural Party members have mastered one or two professional skills. **** China Calls for Eliminating Poverty, Realizing Decent Work The international community should take immediate actions to eliminate poverty and realize decent work, a senior Chinese official said Thursday in Geneva at the ongoing 89th Session of the International Labor Conference. Li Qiyan, deputy minister of labor and social security, pointed out that all countries, developing and developed, should become the beneficiaries of globalization. However, he said, the unjust and irrational international political and economic order has not been fundamentally changed and the gap of wealth between the North and South is widening. Developing countries are faced with more severe challenges than ever in economic development, employment promotion, poverty elimination and realization of decent work, Li added. He said that in the world today, there are still 160 million unemployed people and 500 million working and living below the poverty line with a daily income of less than 1 U.S. dollar He urged the developed countries to assume more obligations in debt reduction and provision of economic and technical assistance. To seize the opportunities of globalization and meet its challenges, Li said, the Chinese government will further improve its social security system, spare no efforts to increase opportunities of productive employment, improve working conditions in workplaces and continuously uplift the living standard of its people. About 3,000 representatives of governments, enterprises and workers' unions from the 175 member states of the International Labor Organization are attending the labor conference. The conference, which is taking place here from June 5 to June 21, provides a forum for the tripartite constituents to debate on the issues of decent work deficit, forced labor, cooperatives and social security. **** China Vows to Make Further Efforts to Fight Climate Change China is willing to make unremitting efforts with the international community in the framework of the Kyoto Protocol and the Climate Change Treaty, in a bid to deal with climate change for the benefit of future generations, said an official from the Foreign Ministry. When asked to comment on US President George W. Bush's recent talk on global climate change, spokesman Sun Yuxi stressed that the Climate Change Treaty and the Kyoto Protocol represent the common will of the international community on the climate issue. "We have noticed that the U.S. side has stressed the importance of scientific research and technological development in solving climate change, but has persistently rejected the Kyoto Protocol," Sun told Thursday's press conference. Any attempts to violate or disregard the principles of the treaty will not be accepted by the international community, he said. Meanwhile, he pointed out that it is irrational to reject the Kyoto Protocol using the excuse that it did not impose emissions targets on some developing countries. In March the U.S. administration rejected the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which aims to fight global warming by limiting emissions of "greenhouse gases" such as carbon dioxide. **** Chinese, Russian Presidents Meet, Friendship Treaty to Be Signed President Jiang Zemin Meets Russian President Vladimir Putin President Jiang Zemin <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/people/jiangzemin.shtml> met Thursday in Shanghai <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/province/Shanghai.html> with Russia <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/russia.html> n President Vladimir Putin, who arrived here for the sixth "Shanghai Five" summit. The two leaders exchanged opinions concerning Sino-Russian relations and major issues of common concern in a sincere and friendly atmosphere. Jiang expressed his welcome to Putin's visit to Shanghai during the meeting. Noting that the two presidents, together with the presidents of Kazakhstan <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/kazakhstan.html> , Kyrgyzstan <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/kyrgyzstan.html> , Tajikistan <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/tajikistan.html> and Uzbekistan <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/uzbekistan.html> , will upgrade the "Shanghai Five" mechanism to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Friday, Jiang said that "this will have great importance to the development of our bilateral relations, the maintenance of regional security and stability and the promotion of multi-polarization of the world." Putin thanked Jiang for inviting him to the summit. He noted that the "Shanghai Five" process has been developing smoothly. "Now that we have got a new direction of development, and will have new member joining, this will surely further expand cooperation among the member states," Putin said. The two leaders expressed their satisfaction over the development of the bilateral ties. Putin said that there is now a trend for more active and rapidly growing bilateral ties between the two countries, and that the two countries could do more things in many fields. Putin expressed his welcome to Jiang's important state visit to Russia in July this year. Noting that this is the first meeting of the two leaders this year, Jiang said he is very glad that they will have several chances this year to meet and discuss major issues of common concern. Jiang described the sound working relations between the two countries and personal friendship between the two leaders as offering an important guarantee to the steady development of the Sino-Russian relations. The Chinese president said he is looking forward to the state visit to Russia next month, when the two leaders will sign a pact on Sino-Russian good-neighborly friendship and cooperation. The pact will function as a legal document guiding the development of the Sino-Russian relations in the new century and will have a deep and far-reaching impact on the steady development of the bilateral ties in the long run, Jiang said. Putin reiterated Russia's principle and stance on the missile defense issue. Jiang expressed the view that China will continue to support Russia's efforts in maintaining global strategic stability. The two sides agree to keep a close contact on the issue. The two leaders also exchanged their views of points on other global and regional issues of common concern. Friendship Treaty to Be Signed President Jiang Zemin will travel to Russia next month to sign the Sino-Russian friendship treaty, it was disclosed in Shanghai during a meeting between Jiang and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin Thursday afternoon. The long-awaited China-Russia Good Neighborly Friendship Cooperation Treaty will serve as an important legal document guiding the development of future bilateral relations, the two presidents agreed. During the meeting, President Putin reiterated Russia's principled stance on the anti-ballastic missile issue. Chinese President Jiang Zemin pledged China will continue to support Russian efforts in maintaining global strategic stability, and the two presidents agreed to keep close contact on this issue. Both Russia and China oppose to US plan to deploy the national missile defense system and theater missile defense system, saying that the 1972 Anti-ballistic Missile Treaty is the cornerstone in maintaining world peace, stability and world strategic balance. Putin arrived in Shanghai Thursday morning to attend the sixth summit of the Shanghai Five, a meeting mechanism established in 1996 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikstan. During this year summit meetings on Thursday and Friday, presidents of Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia Tajikstan and Uzbekstan will declare the founding of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a regional multilateral cooperation body, to replace the Shanghai Five. first of three this year Just days before Putin is to meet US President George W. Bush in Slovenia, the Chinese and Russian leaders were expected to show a united front against US plans to build a national missile defence (NMD) system, according to a Reuter report. Shanghai threw a tight security net for the meeting of the Shanghai Five -- China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan -- only revealing the summit venue to reporters late on Wednesday. The group, set up in 1996 to resolve Sino-Soviet border disputes, was expected to admit a new member, Uzbekistan, and to sign an agreement boosting cross-border cooperation between them. Security is of paramount importance at the summit, which is seen as a test of Shanghai's ability to hold a larger international event, the upcoming informal summit meeting of the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in October. US President Bush will join the summit. "This is a meeting of heads of state, so security must be very tight," said a city official. "This is quite normal." Reporters are required to go through security checks before every meeting and are whisked by bus to and from the venues through streets cordoned off for the summit. Jiang's meeting with Putin is the first of three planned for this year. Shanghai Five members are expected to sign two documents at the summit, one establishing the grouping as a "multilateral regional organisation", and another on boosting cross-border cooperation. **** Chinese, Kyrgyz Presidents Meet Chinese President Jiang Zemin met with Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev in Shanghai Thursday evening. Jiang said that China and the Kyrgyz Republic made great achievements in developing bilateral relationship in recent years. While enhancing bilateral trade and economic cooperation, the two countries signed a treaty on resolving their border issues in an all-round way, Jiang said. Jiang also pledged to support Kyrgyzstan's endeavor to safeguard its state sovereignty and security. The launch of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, scheduled for Friday, marks a new stage of bilateral and multilateral relations between the six member states -- China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, Jiang said. President Akayev said that China's entry into the World Trade Organization will benefit the two countries' trade and economic cooperation. He also expressed his gratitude for China's support to Kyrgyzstan in combating terrorism, separatism and extremism. Jiang said that terrorism, separatism and extremism are main threats to regional security and stability. **** Hezbollah Vows to Retaliate if Israeli Army Fires across Border The Lebanese resistance guerrillas Hezbollah has warned that it will fire back against any Israel <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/israel.html> i troops if they shoot at Lebanese civilians along the border, Oriental radio reported Thursday. In a statement issued Wednesday night, Hezbollah, or Party of God, said that "we will return fire if the Israelis violate our border. We cannot keep silent any longer and we want to make the Israelis understand this." "If Israeli troops kill or wound Lebanese civilians from one of their outposts, then we are obliged to return fire directly," it added. Since its withdrawal from Lebanon <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/lebanon.html> last May, the Israeli army has killed three Lebanese and wounded at least 29 in their demonstrations along the border to protest against its violence against the Palestinians and its occupation of Arab land. Israeli soldiers often fired back at demonstrators when they threw stones towards the Israeli outposts from the Lebanese side. On Tuesday, Hezbollah's anti-aircraft batteries fired at Israeli warplanes flying over the western sector of the border district. It was the first time that Hezbollah has fired at Israeli warplanes since Israel resumed flights over Lebanon last October. Hezbollah said the fire was the beginning of a new retaliatory policy to Israel's daily violation of Lebanese air space and territory. Israel withdrew from south Lebanon last May, ending its 22-year occupation there. However, the Iran <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/iran.html> ian and Syria <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/Syria.html> n-backed Hezbollah swears to continue fighting against Israel as long as it holds the Shebaa Farms, which was occupied by the Jewish country after the Middle East war in 1967. Lebanon and Syria insist the 200-square kilometer farms belong to Lebanon, while the U.N. and Israel regard it Syria's land and its fate should be resolved within the Syrian-Israeli peace talks. Israel reportedly issued strong warnings to Damascus last month that Syrian military positions in Lebanon would be targeted if Hezbollah continued attacking Israeli forces in Shebaa Farms. In mid-April, Israeli warplanes destroyed a Syrian radar station in eastern Lebanon in retaliation for a Hezbollah missile attack against Israel, in which an Israeli soldier was killed. **** Development of NMD Opposed, Efforts for World Security Supported China opposes the US development of the national missile defense (NMD) system, and will support all efforts dedicated to maintaining world security and strategic stability, said an official of the Foreign Ministry Thursday. When asked to comment on Russia <http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/data/russia.html> 's proposal in Shanghai <http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/data/province/Shanghai.html> regarding the NMD issue, Spokesman Sun Yuxi said China supports all efforts of the international community in terms of arms control, disarmament and avoiding new rounds of arms race, adding that China and Russia share common ground on this issue. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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