CHINA: BEIJING: US SECRETARY OF STATE MADELEINE ALBRIGHT VISIT (2)

(29 Apr 1998) Mandarin/Eng/Nat U-S Secretary of State Madeleine Albright pledged on Wednesday to work for a stronger relationship with China, despite differences over human rights, trade barriers and technology deals. Opening her two-day visit in China, Albright said President Bill Clinton was determined to 'anchor the relationship' for the 21st century. President Clinton will visit Beijing in June. Madeleine Albright's trip will prepare the way for the summit meeting President Clinton will hold with Chinese President Jiang Zemin. It's a further sign of attempts to improve the relationship between Washington and Beijing. But the U-S Secretary of State acknowledged that the two nations still have their differences. There is particular concerned about the human rights situation in China. The Clinton administration wants some two-thousand dissidents released from Chinese prisons. Some though have been released to ease the way for the summit in June. Madeleine Albright opened her visit by implementing an agreement reached when U-S President Clinton and China's President Jiang Zemin met last October. The U-S Secretary of State and Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan held a signing ceremony to mark the occasion. SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin) "After Jiang Zemin's visit to the U-S, we are very pleased to see the Sino-U-S maintain a developed and improved momentum and that we have achieved a series of new developments. The Sino-U-S agreement on peaceful usage of nuclear energy has been initiated. SUPER CAPTION: Tang Jiaxuan, Chinese Foreign Minister The agreement signed by the two officials includes a hot line channel which will provide a secure communications link between the White House and Zhongnanhai, the Chinese leadership compound in Beijing. During her speech at the signing ceremony Madeleine Albright said she hoped her visit would help ease the differences between China and the U-S. SOUNDBITE: (English) "As I think both of us have said the kind of issues we are dealing with are the types of issues that take place between two countries that have a great deal in common, countries that still have some differences, that's why these dialogues take place and we are looking towards the 21st Century in terms of our relationship with China and that is the focus of the summit is to look forward and try to anchor our relationship in a way that is productive bilaterally, and as I said regionally and globally. SUPER CAPTION: Madeleine Albright, U-S Secretary of State Albright said the focus of her trip was making sure both nations are briefed on issues to be discussed during Clinton's visit to a summit in China in June. The U-S Secretary of State will stay in China until Friday - her next stop is South Korea. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...