On September 20, 2002, Premier Zhu Rongji held talks with Austrian Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel in Vienna.

Schuessel welcomed Zhu to Austria. He said that high-level governmental exchanges between Austria and China have been frequent this year and the visit of Premier Zhu is the climax of the Austria-China ties.

Zhu said that since the two countries established diplomatic relations 31 years ago, bilateral relations have progressed continuously, leaders of the two countries have kept in constant contact, and bilateral trade has increased rapidly with a good prospect although the trade volume is not big. Bilateral cooperation has been developing smoothly in technical and investment fields. Exchanges and cooperation have also been active in cultural, education, scientific and technological fields. Zhu said that the Chinese side is satisfied with all these.

Zhu said that although the international situation has undergone great changes, the two governments' policies on developing Sino-Austrian friendship and cooperation remain unchanged, and China appreciates Austria's One China policy. He went on to say that China and Austria have no conflicts of fundamental interests and no unresolved historical problems. Rather, the two countries share identical or similar views on many major international and regional issues, and have sound consultations and cooperation in the United Nations and international affairs, which is in the interests of both sides. Zhu noted that he hopes both sides to continue strengthening political ties, vigorously expand economic and trade cooperation, and further promote exchanges in culture, education, science and technology, especially cooperation in agriculture, forestry and environmental protection. Zhu said that  Austria has advanced technologies and rich experience in environmental protection, which is worth learning by China, and he suggested the two sides conduct research in this aspect.

Noting that China occupies a very important position in the external relations of Austria, Schuessel said that the Austrian government has always pursued the One China policy ever since Austria and China established diplomatic relations. He said that Austria has advantages in economy, culture and environmental protection and attaches importance to cooperation with China in environmental protection technologies and economy. He added that Austrian businessmen take great interest in investing in China and Austria also hopes to strengthen cooperation with China in agriculture, hydropower generation, civil aviation and expressway construction.

Both sides also exchanged views on international issues of common concern. On the Iraqi issue, Zhu noted that China has always proposed to solve the issue politically by taking relevant Security Council resolutions as a basis within the UN framework. He said that Iraq should earnestly observe relevant Security Council resolutions and allow UN weapons inspectors back to Iraq at an early date. At the same time, he said that the sovereignty, territorial integrity and the legitimate security concerns of Iraq should be respected. He appreciated Iraq's recent act of unconditionally allowing the return of UN weapons inspectors. He pointed out that the imperative now is to get UN weapons inspectors back to Iraq and carry out their work as soon as possible so that they will be able to make clear if Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction. He also suggested that military attacks should not be waged against Iraq before any conclusive evidence is found and any major act should be adopted only with authorization of the UN.

Schuessel agrees that the adoption of any major act should be authorized by the UN. He said that China has important influence and plays a significant role in the international arena and the European Union should strengthen its consultation and coordination with China on the Iraqi issue.

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