Chinese ambassador to the United States, Li Zhaoxing, Saturday urged all peace-loving Americans to take actions to defeat the Taiwan Security Enhancement Act (TSEA) and help secure congressional approval of permanent Normal Trade Relations (NTR) for China.

He also asked Americans to oppose U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and other actions that go against the spirit of the three joint communiques between Beijing and Washington so as to ensure a sound and stable relationship between the two countries.

The Chinese people, including the compatriots in Taiwan, enshrine peace and treasure the Sino-U.S. relations, and so do the American people, Li said.

"Normal bilateral ties on the basis of the three Sino-U.S. communiques and bilateral cooperation on the basis of equality and mutual benefit are conducive to peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and the whole world at large," the Chinese ambassador said.

Li made the remarks at a reception in the Chinese Embassy on Saturday evening in honor of 20 American governors who were in Washington for the annual meeting of the National Governors' Association (NGA) over the weekend.

The year of 1999 witnessed ups and downs in Sino-U.S. relations, Li said. Fortunately, thanks to joint efforts by the two governments, bilateral ties, which suffered a serious setback due to the U.S.-led NATO's bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade last May, was gradually brought back on track, especially after the meeting between Chinese President Jiang Zemin and U.S. President Bill Clinton in Aukland, New Zealand, last September.

However, Li said, whenever Sino-U.S. ties make some headway, there are always a handful of American politicians who cannot wait to jump to their feet and revert the healthy trend. Those people try every means to interfere in China's internal affairs and encroach upon its sovereignty, using all kinds of pretexts they cook up, Li said.

Those politicians are now defiling the white paper on the Taiwan issue recently published by the Chinese government as a "provocation" which they say may lead to higher tensions in the Taiwan Straits.

It is simply because of those politicians, who fanned up the so-called "China threat" and pushed Congress hard to pass the TSEA and approve the sale to Taiwan of large quantities of advanced weapons, that separatists in the island have been encouraged, thus creating tensions in the Taiwan Straits.

"This is the real root cause for the deteriorating situation in the Taiwan Straits."

Michael O. Leavitt, governor of Utah, who heads the NGA, said the fact that so many governors are gathering in the Chinese Embassy sends an important message to China -- "We love China and respect the Chinese people" and the development of U.S.-China relations is crucial to the peoples of the two countries.

Leavitt said he understood the concern of the Chinese government over the Taiwan issue, which he believed should in no way impede the growth of relations between the United States and China.

He also voiced his support for expanded trade with China and for giving China a permanent NTR. His stand was echoed by other governors present at the reception.