Shevardnadze to Fly to China for Gulf Talks

Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard A. Shevardnadze will fly to China today for talks on the Persian Gulf crisis that are expected to focus on whether the two Communist powers will back the use of force against Iraq, diplomats said Thursday.

Shevardnadze will meet his Chinese counterpart, Qian Qichen, in the western Chinese city of Urumqi.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman had no immediate comment on the visit but said Beijing will continue to strive for a peaceful settlement of the gulf crisis.

China and the Soviet Union are permanent members of the five-member U.N. Security Council and have the power to veto resolutions.

President Bush, who wants U.N. authority to oust Iraq from Kuwait by force, said in Paris this week that the United States and the Soviet Union are “on the same wavelength.”

But diplomats said there is still a question about China’s position if a U.N. resolution is proposed.

China has repeatedly denounced Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait and called for an unconditional withdrawal. But it also has criticized superpower intervention.

“Our position is clear-cut,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Li Zhaoxing told reporters Thursday at a weekly news conference.

“As long as there is a gleam of hope for a peaceful settlement, unremitting efforts should be continued towards this.”