Bush making 3-day visit this month
A top Communist Party official yesterday urged Washington to grasp the 'overall situation' and be pragmatic when dealing with China, a call that coincided with the announcement of a formal visit by US President George W. Bush.
Zheng Bijian , a professor of the Central Party School, said in Beijing that Sino-US ties could only progress if the two sides paid special attention to the 'overall situation' and 'pragmatism'.
'Just as R&D [research and development] can help promote economic development, the 'O' in the 'overall situation' and the 'P' in 'pragmatism' could also bring fruitful progress in Sino-US relations,' Professor Zheng said.
Professor Zheng's comments came as Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan announced that Mr Bush would make a formal visit to China from November 19 to 21 after attending the Apec summit in South Korea.
Professor Zheng expressed 'appreciation' of the big picture presented by US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick in September, but said Mr Zoellick demonstrated 'prejudice' when discussing China's politics.
