has sent a conciliatory message to the incoming US administration stressing flexibility in dealing with cross-strait ties, South China Morning Post reported.In an interview published by the Washington Post on Thursday, Mr Qian said he wished to clarify Beijing's stance on Taiwan by saying "anything could be discussed" as long as the "one China" principle was adhered to - including the possibility of a loose confederation with Taiwan.
"We said the mainland and Taiwan belong to the same 'one China'. I think it can help ease their doubt," Mr Qian told the US paper.
Mr Qian's comments - although more important for their semantics than any major shift in policy - are being seen as the first step of a charm offensive to seek a smooth start to relations with president-elect George W. Bush.
Douglas Paal, president of the Asia-Pacific Policy Centre and a member of the National Security Council in the previous Bush administration, was quoted by the paper as saying Beijing was sending signals that it was prepared to work with the administration and not make unreasonable demands.
Last year, Mr Qian first put forward the notion of "equality" in cross-strait relations to replace the old concept that Taiwan was part of China. It was then seen as a subtle softening of stance.
During the interview with the paper - conducted in the Zhongnanhai compound, the headquarters of Beijing's top leaders - Mr Qian repeatedly urged the incoming administration not to view Beijing as a "strategic competitor".
"China and the United States have no need to begin a war against each other" over Taiwan, Mr Qian said.
Beijing's eagerness to seek cosy relations with the potentially more hostile Bush administration was highlighted in a commentary by a Beijing Government adviser in the China Daily yesterday.
Yan Xuetong, executive director of the Institute of International Studies at Tsinghua University, urged the Bush administration to clarify its China policy or it might otherwise be "dragged into military clashes" if conflicts erupted.
Dr Yan said Beijing was concerned about whether the Bush administration would continue the "three no's policy" - meaning no US support for Taiwan independence, no support for "one Taiwan, one China" and no admittance of Taiwan into international organisations for which statehood is a prerequisite for membership.
"It is up to the Bush administration to show the Chinese mainland the true colour of its attitude towards the island," he said.
Speaking to the South China Morning Post yesterday, Dr Yan said his article was based on two main concerns Beijing had about the incoming Bush administration - whether it would promise not to support independence for Taiwan and whether it would increase arms sales to the island.
Beijing believes hawkish interests will prevail in the new administration because of the presence of two military heavyweights in the new government: vice-president-elect Dick Cheney and Gulf War hero Colin Powell.
But Dr Yan believed it would be months before the Bush administration clarified its stance on Taiwan.
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