On the afternoon of April 28, 2009, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Jiang Yu held a regular press conference and answered questions on China-Japan relations, China-France relations, Foreign Ministry's travel alerts over swine flu and etc.

Jiang Yu: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I don't have any announcement to start with. The floor is open.

Q: About the swine flu. The USGovernment voiced dissatisfaction over Chinese Government's banning the imports of pork products from the US. How do you comment?

A: Taking the swine flu very seriously, the Chinese Government has immediately launched emergency mechanism, established cross-ministry mechanism and adopted a series of measures to strengthen surveillance and control as well as inspection and quarantine at points of entry. Ministry of Health has kept close contact with the World Health Organization and Governments of the US, Canada and Mexico in order to follow the epidemic and efforts of measures closely.

No confirmed human case of swine flu has been found in China so far, but we could not rule out the possibility.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already released two travel alerts and I would like to remind Chinese citizens again to take precautions while traveling to flu-affected countries. We will keep a close eye on the developments and update travel alert accordingly.

On your specific question, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and Ministry of Agriculture jointly released a notice of banning imports of swine and pork products from Mexico and three affected states of the US in order to intensify prevention and control. We hope the measure be fully understood.

Q: It is reported that President of the French National Assembly Accoyer presented President Sarkozy's letter to President Hu Jintao during their meeting on April 24. Please confirm. Was the letter an invitation for President Hu to visit France?

A: On April 24, President Hu Jintao met with visiting President Accoyer of French National Assembly at the Great Hall of the People. Mr. Accoyer gave President Hu a letter from President Sarkozy. In his letter, President Sarkozy reiterated his willingness to further enhance bilateral cooperation with China in various fields including politics, economy, education, science and technology, stated that France stands ready to communicate and coordinate with China on major international issues, tackling global economic crisis and reforming international financial institutions in particular. He also invited President Hu to pay another state visit to France.

China always attaches great importance to China-France relations. We are willing to join hands with France, draw from the experience of the development of bilateral relations, jointly implement relevant consensus reached by both sides, maintain high-level exchanges and people-to-people exchanges at all levels so as to improve sound and stable development of China-France comprehensive strategic partnership.

Q: Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso will visit China tomorrow, however, Foreign Minister Nakasone yesterday chided China for not shouldering responsibility of reducing nuclear arms and lack of transparency in its strategic direction. Will his remarks bring negative impact on Prime Minister Aso's visit?

A: China always supports and actively advocates comprehensive prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons. China endorses international nuclear disarmament and has made unremitting efforts in this regard. Given the completely explicit and transparent nuclear strategy and policy of China, the accusations of the Japanese side are totally groundless.

On Prime Minister Aso's upcoming visit, China-Japan relations are at a critical phase of building up strategic relationship of mutual benefit and enriching its content. We hope to strengthen political mutual trust, advance exchanges and cooperation in various fields and discuss how to combat the international financial crisis through this visit in a bid to push forward sound and stable development of bilateral ties.

Q: During Prime Minister Aso's visit, will President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao bring up the issue of his offering to the Yasukuni Shrine? Secondly, according to Washington, the Obama Administration is considering taking the Chinese terrorist suspects held in the Guantanamo Bay. Do you have any information and how do you respond?

A: During Prime Minister Aso's stay in Beijing, Premier Wen Jiabao will have talks with him and President Hu Jintao will meet with him. I believe they will exchange views on issues of common and respective interest.

As to your second question, we have stated our position on many occasions. The Chinese terrorist suspects held in the Guantanomo Bay are members of the terrorist group East Turkistan Islamic Movement, thus should be handed over to China for proper handling according to law. Our position of opposing any country to accept them in whatever name remains unchanged.

Q: Financial ministers of the ASEAN plus 3 countries will discuss follow-up actions of the Chiang Mai Initiative at the 42nd annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank in Bali, Indonesia. Will China send a delegation to the meeting?

A: I could double check the information for you. China, attaching great importance to the 10+3 cooperation, actively promotes regional financial cooperation, including the Chiang Mai Initiative you mentioned. China has reached profound consensus with other parties, including setting up a 10+3 foreign exchange reserve as a multilateral application of the Initiative. We endeavor to find common ground with parties concerned over the key elements of the exchange reserve by the end of this May so as to implement the mechanism at an early date.

If there are no more questions, thanks for coming! See you!