The Chinese government has taken diplomatic moves to reverse the downturn of
China-Japan relations.
Chinese President Hu Jintao's speech on Sino-Japanese ties in March was "an
important diplomatic move" adopted by China to improve bilateral ties, said
Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan here Monday.
Tang made the remarks in a meeting with Japan's Liberal Democratic Party
Secretary-General Takebe Tsutomu.
"Under the new situation, the maintenance of healthy and stable growth of
Sino-Japanese ties complies with the fundamental interests of the two peoples
and the common aspiration of the international community," Tang said.
"Sino-Japanese ties now face certain difficulties. Such a situation should be
promptly reversed," Tang said.
Hu made the speech when meeting with heads of seven Japan-China friendship
organizations in Beijing on March 31.
The seven organizations, which came as guests of the China-Japan Friendship
Association, include the Japanese Council for the Promotion of International
Trade, Association of Diet men League for Japan-China Friendship, Japan-China
Friendship Association, Japan-China Cultural Exchange Association, Japan-China
Association on Economy and Trade, Japan-China Society,and Japan-China Friendship
Center.
The relationship between China and Japan has been chilled in recent years due
to Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro's repeated pilgrimage to the
Yasukuni Shrine, which honors 2.5 million Japanese war dead, including 14
Class-A World War II criminals.
Leaders of the two neighboring countries have halted exchanges of visit for
over four years, ever since Koizumi began paying homage to the controversial war
shrine soon after he took office in 2001.
Hu told the heads of the seven Japanese organizations that in recent years,
China-Japan relationship has been faced with a difficult situation, which has
aroused worries from the two peoples and attention from the international
community.
The sticking point in this issue is that certain Japanese leader insists on
visiting the Yasukuni Shrine, Hu said, noting that this move harms the feelings
of peoples from China and other victimized countries, and infringes upon the
political foundation of the China-Japan relations.
According to Tang, Hu in the speech fully expounded China's principled stance
on Sino-Japanese ties with "an attitude responsible for the history, the people
and the future".
Being responsible for the history means that the historical facts should be
respected, and historical lessons should be learned so as to prevent the replay
of historical tragedy, Hu said.
Being responsible for the people means that the development of China-Japan
relations should always be based on enhancing friendship between the two peoples
and seeking for concrete benefits for the two peoples, Hu noted.
Being responsible for the future means that the two sides should persist in
the peaceful coexistence and friendship for generations to come, and jointly
create the bright future for the China-Japan good-neighborly friendship and
mutually-beneficial cooperation, he said.
The president said the Chinese government has a "clear", "consistent" and
"unswerving" stance on its relations with Japan.
Hu's speech "fully demonstrated China's active gesture and sincere aspiration
to improve Sino-Japanese ties", Tang said, adding that the speech clearly
directed the course of the improvement of bilateral ties and presented effective
ways to address the current problems and the future prospects of Sino-Japanese
ties.
Tang also urged Takebe and other friends from the LDP to enhance
communications among political parties in the two countries in an effort to play
a constructive role in bilateral ties.
Takebe said Japan would learn the lesson from history and adhere to the path
of peaceful development.
He was willing to contribute to the improvement and growth of Japan-China
relations through the promotion of exchanges between two ruling parties, as well
as localities and non-governmental organizations of the two countries.
The growth of bilateral ties is of significance to the maintenance of peace
in Asia and the world at large, he said.
China is Takebe's first leg of a week-long Asian trip that will also take him
to Mongolia.