Powell fails to win over China on two hot spots

BEIJING - US Secretary of State Colin Powell yesterday made clear that North Korea was not just a problem for the United States and that countries in the region should pitch in to pressure Pyongyang into giving up its nuclear ambitions.

But for all the diplomatic talk and niceties exchanged, he left Beijing last night without any clear indication that he had won the support of China's leaders for the American position on North Korea or Iraq.

Mr Powell had stressed that the US was prepared to address the nuclear issue with Pyongyang only 'in a multilateral context' in which China and other nations could participate.

But Chinese Vice-President Hu Jintao chose to leave the ball firmly in Washington's court.

He was quoted by Xinhua news agency as saying after his meeting with Mr Powell that China hoped that the US and North Korea 'will conduct direct dialogue as soon as possible'.

Mr Powell, who had also sought to sway China's leaders to back the US push for military action against Iraq, also did not appear to have moved the Chinese.

But Washington's top diplomat put a positive spin on the day-long talks.

'We perhaps have some other ideas we can pursue with the Chinese in the days and weeks ahead,' Mr Powell said in reply to a question, adding that both sides 'started to discuss some of these ideas today'.

He also expressed gratitude to the Chinese for their role in searching for a solution. 'I think they prefer to play their role quietly, but they have a clear understanding of our desires and our interests,' he said.

The North Korean crisis broke out last October when Pyongyang revealed that it had violated a 1994 pact signed with the US by pursuing a banned nuclear weapons programme.

The US has been pressing China, without success, to use its influence to get North Korea to stop the programme.

Political analyst Tao Wenzhao yesterday said that the differences between the Chinese and Americans over North Korea were unlikely to hurt bilateral ties.

'The difference is not as great as some people imagine,' he said, adding that the two sides had a vested commonality in wanting to see a nuclear-free Korean peninsula and that both sides wanted the issue to be resolved diplomatically.

On the issue of Iraq, Mr Hu, while reiterating China's support for disarmament of Iraq, called for a political solution within the framework of the United Nations.

Mr Powell told the press conference that it was not appropriate for the US to press the Chinese to vote for a second UN resolution as it had not been tabled yet.

Analysts here have said that Beijing is unlikely to veto the second resolution, and that it would only go as far as abstaining, as it did not want to jeopardise ties with the US.

Mr Powell left Beijing yesterday after meeting President Jiang Zemin. He headed to Seoul to attend the inauguration of incoming South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun today. He is expected to have a difficult time with the South Koreans over North Korea as well.