DATE=9/2/1999 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITLE=CHINA-TAIWAN-US (L ONLY) NUMBER=2-253364 BYLINE=ROGER WILKISON DATELINE=BEIJING CONTENT= VOICED AT= INTRO: China says it will not use nuclear weapons against Taiwan, but warns the island must stop discussing the idea it is a separate state. Correspondent Roger Wilkison reports China's foreign ministry says Beijing and Taipei have nothing to talk about unless Taiwan discards President Lee Teng-hui's call for special state-to-state relations with the mainland. TEXT: China issued another warning to Taiwan after the island's ruling Nationalists, meeting Sunday, placed President Lee's call for statehood in their party platform. The Nationalists stopped short of recommending a constitutional amendment on the issue - - a move China has said would be intolerable. But Beijing says Mr. Lee's latest move is pushing the Taiwanese people closer to what the official Xinhua news agency calls -- the abyss of war. The Foreign Ministry warned Taiwan (Thursday) not to follow Mr. Lee down what it described as -- the road to independence. Beijing has threatened to invade the island if it declares formal independence. But spokesman Sun Yuxi -- speaking through an interpreter -- says China stands by its declared policy of no first-use of nuclear weapons and would not use such weapons against Taiwan. /// INTERPRETER ACTUALITY /// We will not be the first to use nuclear weapons, and we will not use nuclear weapons against non- nuclear weapon countries. We will not use our nuclear weapons against (our) Taiwan compatriots. /// END ACTUALITY /// Mr. Sun strongly hinted a scheduled visit to Taiwan by China's top negotiator for cross-strait matters will be cancelled if the island does not dump its call for statehood. The Chinese spokesman says there is no basis for contact between Beijing and Taipei since Taiwan abandoned the One-China policy, with its goal of eventual reunification. /// INTERPRETER ACTUALITY /// Under (the) One-China policy, we can talk about anything. But without that, we can not talk about anything. /// END ACTUALITY /// Mr. Sun says Taiwan will be a dominant theme during a meeting between President Clinton and Chinese President Jiang Zemin later this month in New Zealand, during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. He urged the United States to continue supporting the one-China policy with concrete actions. Although he declined to specify those actions, Beijing has long called for Washington to stop selling defensive weapons to Taiwan. The Chinese spokesman says China still wants to join the World Trade Organization. He says it is up to the United States and the European Union to restart talks with China that Beijing froze after NATO bombed the Chinese embassy last May in Yugoslavia. /// INTERPRETER ACTUALITY /// The ball is not on the Chinese side. It is not in China's court. China hopes that the United States and Europe will take concrete actions so as to resume the talks. /// END ACTUALITY /// Mr. Sun says an important opportunity was lost for China's accession to the W-T-O when Premier Zhu Rongji offered major concessions during a visit to Washington last April, but was turned down by President Clinton. Mr. Clinton feared he could not secure Congressional support for the deal. (SIGNED) NEB/RW/FC/LTD/RAE 02-Sep-1999 08:06 AM EDT (02-Sep-1999 1206 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .