Peking Cites Some Advances in Soviet Ties

China said Sunday that its relations with the Soviet Union have “improved to a certain extent” over the last year and that ties with other East European countries are improving and expanding.

The official New China News Agency, reporting details of an interview with Foreign Minister Wu Xueqian that covered the entire range of China’s foreign policy concerns, quoted Wu as saying:

“Sino-Soviet relations have improved to a certain extent in 1985, notably in economic and trade relations. To our regret, there has been no fundamental improvement in relations as yet.”

On Saturday, the official New China News Agency said that visiting Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail S. Kapitsa has held “frank” talks with Chinese officials on the two Communist powers’ relations.

Wu seemed to stress the improvement of ties with other Communist countries over its ties with the West. Western diplomats said this was apparently probably part of China’s efforts to be seen as having an independent foreign policy.

Turning to American relations, Wu said the United States still trades with China in ways suggesting that it regards it as a potential adversary.

He welcomed the U.S. decision in October to relax restrictions on high-technology exports but added pointedly: “We hope the United States will go further and effect a fundamental change in its discriminatory policy of regarding China as a potential adversary.”

On ties with Japan, Wu said the development of relations has been “quite successful” but added that trade must be increased in a balanced way, a reference to China’s large and growing trade deficit with Tokyo.