DENVER, Colorado, April 10
(AFP)
Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji arrived here Saturday after signing a trade pact that removed barriers to US farm products, a move that may bring Beijing closer to its coveted WTO membership.
Upon arriving in this city at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, the Chinese leader had lunch with area business and government leaders, then took time off to enjoy live music and visit the headquarters of the Broncos American football team.
US farmers were jubilant about China�s agreement to lift the barriers to US agricultural products, even though the failure to strike a deal in Washington for China�s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) was sobering.
The bitter remarks Zhu had made in Washington Friday had raised the question of whether China would follow through on its announced trade concessions that included substantially lowering some tariffs.
But these concerns were laid to rest Saturday when US Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky announced she signed a trade agreement with China�s minister for foreign trade and economic cooperation, Shi Guangsheng.
The US-China trade agreement lifts a ban on citrus products, wheat and beef and cuts hefty tariffs on other agricultural products, giving US farmers greater access to China�s 1.2 billion consumers.
In a joint statement, Zhu and US President Bill Clinton lauded the agreement as �significant progress� toward China�s access to the WTO.
Darell Hanavan, executive director of the Colorado Wheat Administration told the Rocky Mountain News daily that farmers were excited about China�s lifting of a 26-year-old ban on US wheat and other grains.
�There is no question in our mind that over time, China will become our largest export market,� Hanavan said. Colorado exports 234 million dollars worth of wheat annually.
Speaking at a luncheon held by Denver Mayor Wellington Webb, Zhu told of a breakfast he had Friday with a bipartisan group of US members of congress.
Zhu said he left with the distinct impression that � contrary to what Clinton says � the US congress would indeed support China�s entry into the WTO.
When asked for opinions none of the congress members said they were opposed, Zhu said. And after the meal, one member of congress approached him and whispered into his ear to �be patient.�
��I�m very sorry, but just wait for two months and I guarantee we will ratify that,�� Zhu said the unnamed member of congress told him.
Zhu said his response was: �I hope we won�t have to wait for two months.�
Guests at the luncheon included representatives of Denver�s 15,000-strong Chinese-American community.
After the luncheon Zhu and his delegation of some 200 people heard a sampling of country western music and Chinese opera in the Red Rocks Amphitheater, located in a setting surrounded by towering cliffs.
Zhu heard the country group Bar D Wrangler perform a medley of western music classics including �Tumbling Tumbleweeds� and �Cool Water,� and songs about riding horses in the west.
A Tibetan singer named Dorji Ciren sung a popular Chinese classic called �My Homeland, Kind as a Mother,� then Chinese opera singer Zhang Lihui sang �I love you China.�
After the music the Chinese delegation drove to the Broncos American football team headquarters. Earlier in the day Zhu � reportedly a fan of Broncos� quarterback John Elway � received a football signed by all the Bronco players from Mayor Webb.
He was later scheduled to visit Georgia Tech, a company that specializes in storing medical files, then dine with Denver Governor Bill Owen.
Zhu is scheduled to travel to Chicago Sunday, then continue on to New York and Boston as part of his nine-day, six-city US tour. He is the first Chinese premier to visit the United States in 15 years.
Zhu also will visit Encore Media International, which provides western programming to 55 million cable television clients in China, and plans to stop at the headquarters of Storage Technology Corporation, which has some of the world�s most advanced digital-information storage systems.
The 2.3 billion dollar global provider of digital storage is in talks to provide China�s top medical facilities with equipment allowing them to store up to 120,000 medical images such as X-rays, CAT scans and magnetic resonance imaging.
BELGRADE, April 11
(AFP)
The Yugoslav para-military leader Zeliko Raznatovic, alias Arkan, told AFP early Sunday that a US stealth F-117 bomber was shot down over Yugoslavia Friday night and its pilot captured.
Arkan, encountered at a Belgrade restaurant, told journalists, including an AFP correspondent, that �an F-117 stealth bomber was shot down by Yugoslav anti-aircraft gunners on Friday night�. He added that �the pilot was taken prisoner and he is a black American.�
On Saturday, the journalists were present at the restaurant when Arkan jumped up shouting to them: �a NATO aircraft has been shot down by the anti-aircraft guns and the pilot has been captured... It is another F 117.�
He said the plane crashed near Batajnica military airport 15 kilometres (nine miles) northwest of Belgrade.
Arkan had just received a call on his mobile telephone. He immediately ordered a round of drinks to �celebrate the event�.
On Saturday, an eyewitness living at Batajnica, told AFP that she saw a plane hit near the airport on Friday night.
�Shortly after midnight I heard gunfire then I saw a plane explode and the pilot bailed out. He landed with his parachute about 50 metres (yards) from my house,� she told AFP. �Neighbours told me they saw the pilot try to run away but he was caught soon after by the police.�
Neither the Yugoslav media nor the authorities said anything Saturday about a NATO plane being shot down.
NATO officials in Brussels denied losing an aircraft over Yugoslavia. And in Washington, the Pentagon also denied the report.
�We have no information about this,� Pentagon spokesman Glenn Flood said.
All Over the Globe is published by IPA House.
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