On the evening of 13th September, China's Vice Premier Qian Qichen had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Powell at the request of the latter.

Mr. Powell once again expressed his thanks to the Chinese Government and people for their condolences and support following the violent terrorist attacks in the United States.

Mr. Powell said that the U.S. side is looking forward to cooperation with China in fighting terrorism.

Mr. Qian said that President Jiang Zemin had a phone conversation with President Bush yesterday over the serious violent incident in New York and Washington. I would also like to take this opportunity to express my heart-felt sympathy to you and deep condolences to the deceased.

Mr. Qian said, we are consistently opposed to any kind of terrorist violence, and we believe that the fight against terrorism calls for cooperation of the international community. I am very pleased to see that the UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution condemning terrorism. We are ready to enhance cooperation with the U.S. side in this field.