Secession
Taiwan
United Nations

"Are we all aware of the precedent that is being set and are we aware of the catastrophic consequences that it may lead to?" asked President Boris Tadic of Serbia at the Security Council session after Kosovo declared independence from Serbia. Certainly China is most keenly aware of all that Kosovo independence may entail, as a FM spokesman voiced "great concern" over Kosovo's action. China insisted that the Security Council Resolution 1244 remain the political and legal basis of resolving the issue of Kosovo's status. while the European members of the Security Council along with the US claimed the Security Council’s role had reached the end of the road. Interestingly, though, China does not seem to advocate use of violence by Serbia to suppress the secession. "China calls on the two sides of Serbia and Kosovo to continue to seek a proper solution through negotiation within the framework of international law, and the international community should create favorable conditions for this," said the FM spokesman. China also announced she would send more peacekeepers to Kosovo. Meanwhile, acting almost mischievously, the Chen Shui-bian Government in Taiwan declared recognition of Kosovo, prompting Beijing's FM spokesman to declare that "Taiwan, as a part of China, has no right and qualification at all to make the so-called recognition".

Trade
Dispute Settlement

A WTO panel found that China's surcharge on imported car parts was inconsistent with her WTO commitments in a case brought by the US, the EU and Canada. Reacting to China's first defeat in the WTO dispute settlement body, a FM spokesman said, "China respects the procedure of the WTO to solve the dispute." So the Government at least is not publicly whining about the procedure or judges being "unfair", "biased" or "evil-minded", as it usually does in other cases whose outcome is not to its liking.