The world is becoming more interested in China. And while the country faces plenty of challenges, its government says it is committed to promoting international harmony and dialogue.

Except when it comes to Taiwan and Tibet. Zhou Wenzhong, China's ambassador to the United States, emphasized in a public lecture April 5 that independence for either Taiwan or Tibet is out of the question. Zhou spoke on "China-U.S. Relations and China's Peaceful Development" at Kennedy Hall's Call Auditorium.

Earlier that day, Zhou met with Cornell President David Skorton to discuss ideas for new Cornell-China collaborations.

In his talk, sponsored by Cornell's Office of the Vice Provost for International Relations, the soft-spoken Zhou focused on the opportunities for positive growth in the evolving relationship between China and the United States. "We share more and more common interests," he said. Increased collaboration between the two nations, he said, holds the potential for expanding trade, creating jobs, fostering scientific advances and resolving conflicts around the world.

China's biggest challenges, Zhou noted, include its struggle to build a national health-care system and to address the increasing gap between prosperous coastal cities and poor rural areas. The government is also working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and participate in carbon exchange programs while fueling consumption.

Addressing calls by some Taiwanese leaders for independence from China, Zhou sternly rejected such rhetoric as harmful to the people of the island, saying it threatens to disrupt regional security.

"We are concerned and worried about the possibility of Taiwan being separated," he said. Calling the independence movement "conflict within the family," he said the Chinese government is committed to keeping peace on both sides of the Taiwan Straits. "Our attitude against separation is very clear, and we mean what we say," he said. "It is in the people's interest of Taiwan above else to refrain from going too far. We will do whatever to stop independence -- there is no doubt about it."

Taking questions after the lecture, Zhou was similarly firm about Tibet. "Tibet is part of China," he said, emphasizing that Tibetan independence is "something the central government could not tolerate."

Asked about the Dalai Lama, who has made several visits to Cornell, he said the lines of communication between the Buddhist spiritual leader and the Chinese government are open. "So long as he stops advocating for Tibetan independence and agrees to come back to 'one China,' the central government is prepared to talk to him," he said.

To a question about China's role in the Darfur conflict, Zhou said the Chinese government is working with the United States and other countries to find a political resolution while respecting Sudan's territorial integrity. And to a student who asked about the trade imbalance between China and the United States, he said the Chinese government is committed to reducing the trade deficit through a variety of means, including investing more in the United States.

"The two economies are highly complementary," he said. But he added that Chinese investment in the United States should be taken as positive steps -- not as threats to national security. "This issue has been highly politicized," he said. "I hope sense will prevail.

"We should appropriately handle our differences," Zhou added. "As long as we both act in this way, we will surely be able to advance a constructive relationship."

Reaction to the talk was mixed. Many in the audience said they didn't support the Chinese position with regard to Taiwan -- but the tone of the dialogue remained positive.

Tengfang Huang, a graduate student in plant biology from Fujian province on the Taiwan Strait, was particularly concerned about relations with Taiwan. "Nobody wants war," he said. "We don't know what's going to happen."

Still, Huang said, he was grateful that Zhou made the trip to Ithaca and addressed the community's concerns.

Cornell and China go back a long way. The university's first Chinese student, Alfred Sao-ke Sze (1901) went on to serve as China's ambassador to the United States -- one of Zhou Wenzhong's early predecessors. And since that time, the relationship has expanded.

In a November 2005 trip to China, then Cornell President Hunter Rawlings signed an academic partnership with Peking University President Xu Zhihong that finalized Cornell's China and Asia-Pacific Studies (CAPS) program. The program includes intensive courses in Mandarin, as well as in Chinese history, society, politics and foreign relations. Students also spend a semester in Washington, D.C., and another in Beijing, making CAPS the first Cornell major to require coursework overseas.

In September 2006 Cornell President David Skorton announced the establishment of the Jeffrey Sean Lehman Fund for Scholarly Exchange with China, a faculty and graduate student exchange program to support projects involving collaboration between Cornell and Chinese scholars.