China and Japan on Saturday concluded a strategic dialogue, with
the two sides vowing to build "strategic, mutually beneficial"
ties.
The three-day dialogue, which began in Beijing on Thursday and
concluded in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province,
on Friday, was the latest move to improve ties.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo and Japanese Vice
Minister for Foreign Affairs Shotaro Yachi? headed the two
delegations at the meeting, officially known as the seventh round
of China-Japan strategic dialogue.
The two vice foreign ministers smiled and traded jokes prior to
the start on Thursday.
"As participants in the dialogue, both of us are happy about the
improvements in bilateral ties," Dai told Shotaro before their
closed door meetings began.
Echoing Dai's views, Shotaro joked that it was the first time
that he had smiled while talking with Chinese officials at the
strategic dialogue.
The first round of the strategic dialogue was held in Beijing in
May 2005.
"The China-Japan strategic dialogue was initiated at a time when
bilateral relations were faced with great difficulties," Dai said
in his opening remarks in Diaoyutai State Guesthouse,
"The strategic dialogue played a role in removing political
obstacles in bilateral relations and getting relations back on
track," Dai said.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a landmark visit to
China in October last year, the first since he took office last
September. Abe's visit was widely seen as a "turning point" in
relations.
Both Dai and Shotaro said they still bore a "heavy
responsibility" to promote ties.
The two delegations comprised about 20 Chinese and Japanese
officials.
The two sides discussed building "strategic, mutually
beneficial" ties and had "frank" and "in-depth" exchanges of views
on how to maintain the sound momentum of improving and developing
bilateral ties, according to a statement released by Chinese
Foreign Ministry at the end of the dialogue.
This year marks the 35th anniversary of normalization of
China-Japan diplomatic relations and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will pay an official visit to Japan
in April.
"This provides an important opportunity for advancing bilateral
ties, and both sides should work for a complete success of the
visit and for long-term, sound and stable progress of bilateral
ties," Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing told Shotaro.
Li urged Japan to observe the three China-Japan political
documents and properly resolve "sensitive" issues so as to maintain
the momentum of improvement and growth of bilateral ties.
The strategic dialogue was one of a string of active exchanges
between the two countries in the new year.
Earlier this month, a delegation from the New Komeito Party, the
minority partner in Japan's coalition government, visited China.
Chinese President Hu Jintao told New Komeito party chief Akihiro
Ota that he hoped the two countries could maintain the good
momentum.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met with Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) meetings in Cebu, the Philippines, in mid
January.
Wen and Abe agreed to increase exchanges of high-level visits
and strategic dialogue, and to expand cooperation in energy,
environmental protection, finance and the high-tech industry.
Nikai Toshihiro, chairman of the Diet Affairs Committee of
Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), also visited China
this week.
Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan told Nikai, "The
prerequisite of building strategic, mutually beneficial ties is to
step up strategic mutual trust."
In his policy address to parliament on Friday, Abe vowed to make
efforts to build strategic, mutually beneficial ties with
China.
"These moves indicate that building strategic and mutually
beneficial ties is on the agenda of the Chinese and Japanese
governments," said Jin Xide, a research fellow on Japanese studies
at the China Academy of Social Sciences.
"Yet as the political foundation, public sentiments and opinions
on China-Japan relations are relatively fragile, it will be a
difficult process to build this relationship," Jin said. China and
Japan agreed to hold the next round of the strategic dialogue in
Japan at a "convenient time" for both sides, according to China's
Foreign Ministry.
(Xinhua News Agency January 28, 2007)