U.S. Relations With the People's Republic of China (2006)

U.S. Department of State

Remarks Upon Departure from St. Regis Hotel

Christopher Hill, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs

Beijing, China
December 23, 2006

Assistant Secretary Hill: So, this is the hard core, huh? Hey, I've got to go catch an airplane.

QUESTION: Just one question. How would you describe the week?

Assistant Secretary Hill: Long. A lot of hard work but a little disappointing, I must be honest with you, because we really wanted to make real progress. So we're going to talk about it next week in Washington, take a little rest and figure out what we do next.

QUESTION: Are we going to see you again in January? Here in Beijing?

Assistant Secretary Hill: It depends where you are.

QUESTION: Can you be sure that you can reconvene in a short period of time?

Assistant Secretary Hill: We're going to talk about what we need to do and what the problems are. And I hope the DPRK delegation goes back to Pyongyang and I hope they have some conversations in Pyongyang, because they also clearly need to make some decisions. Okay, I've got to get out to the airplane. See you later.

QUESTION: Have a great Christmas.

Assistant Secretary Hill: Thank you. You too. Bye.