Premier Wen Jiabao said on Monday that China âwill considerâ reducing debts owed to it by Iraq, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Wen made the comment after meeting with US envoy James A. Baker, Xinhua said. Wen said âChina will consider reducing the debts owned to it by Iraq out of humanitarian concern,â Xinhua said. It paraphrased the premier as saying Beijing âfully understands the difficulties of reconstruction in Iraq and the situation of the Iraqi people.â The report gave no indication by how much China might reduce Iraqâs debts. China says the government of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein owed it some US$1.1 billion in 1990 before the first Gulf War, but the size of the current figure was not clear. Baker, who arrived Monday from Tokyo, described his talks with Wen and Chinese President Hu Jintao as âvery goodâ but didnât immediately give any details. Iraq owes about US$40 billion, including interest, to members of the Paris Club.
| Baker is tearing them up. The diplomatic front is looking better than the military front at the moment, and the military front isn't looking bad. |
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