On September 19, 2005, State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan met in Diaoyutai State Guesthouse with the chief negotiators of the fourth round of six-party talks held in Beijing.

First of all, on behalf of the Chinese government, Tang extended congratulations on the successful conclusion of the fourth round of six-party talks, saying that the joint statement reached by the six parties with many substantial contents and taking into account the interest and concerns of all the six parties, is a balanced and win-win constructive diplomatic document, marking a major step forward of the six-party talks. The active progress of this round of talks is attributed to the hard work and wisdom of all the chief negotiators and demonstrates the political will of the six governments and their leaders to take a far-sighted perspective and proceed with the general situation of peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia to solve the nuclear issue in the Peninsula through dialogue. The joint statement is also a product of the tough negotiations and relentless efforts of the six delegations over the past more than two years. It is indeed hard-won and deserves to be cherished.

Tang pointed out that the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue is fairly complicated. It goes far beyond the nuclear issue itself and concerns the peace, stability and development in the Korean Peninsula and the entire Asia at large. It requires hard negotiations to fundamentally solve the issue. In the future process of peaceful negotiations, we will still encounter many difficulties and problems and the process will remain a tough one, of which we should make adequate assessment. He expressed hope that all the parties,, based on the joint statement, will continue extending mutual respect, conducting consultations on an equal footing, taking a pragmatic and flexible attitude and interacting with each other so as to expand common consensus, narrow down differences and ultimately realize the peaceful settlement of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

Tang said that the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula is both a challenge and an opportunity to all the parties concerned. He indicated hope that all the six parties take the opportunity of solving the nuclear issue to strengthen dialogue and cooperation, work hard to improve relations, ensure the long-term peace and stability on the Peninsula and realize common development and prosperity. He stressed that the Chinese government will as always resolutely support the peaceful settlement of the nuclear issue through dialogue and the process of the six-party talks and work with all the other parties concerned to make active contributions toward realizing our common goal.

The chief negotiators of the six-party talks thanked the Chinese government for its relentless efforts and important role of advancing the progress of the talks.