LARAMIE - China will never accept independence for Taiwan, China's ambassador to the United States said Thursday.

In response to a question from a member of the audience at the University of Wyoming, Zhou said China is working to achieve a peaceful reunification with Taiwan.

He noted that U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte told a Chinese television network two days ago that the United States opposes Taiwan's planned referendum on United Nations membership in the name of Taiwan, seeing that as a step toward a declaration of independence of Taiwan and an alteration of the status quo.

"So long as they agree to come back to one China," Zhou said, "anything can be discussed, including the missile defense issue."

At the press conference, Zhou said the adoption Thursday of an anti-monopoly law by China's National People's Congress, after 13 years on the drawing board, would not work a change in the ability of the United States or other countries to invest in China. According to a release from the Xinhua news agency Thursday, the law would impose strict new checks on foreign acquisitions of Chinese companies to protect that country's economic security.

Zhou said China's family planning program has been successful in limiting population growth in the country.

"We have kept it below 1.3 billion, when it otherwise would have been 1.5 or 1.6 billion at this time, and that's a contribution to the world," he said.

But he said China had not called on other countries to adopt similar policies. The world is very diverse, he said, and China would respect the population policies adopted by other countries.