China and Japan opened talks on Friday on their dispute over gas
exploration rights in the East China Sea in a bid to achieve a
resolution.
The Foreign Ministry said in a press statement the two sides
expressed ideas to resolve the issue in a formal and informal way.
Further negotiations will be held next month.
Hu Zhengyue, director of the Asian Affairs Department of the
Foreign Ministry, and Kenichiro Sasae, head of the Japanese Foreign
Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, chaired the meeting
on behalf of their teams.
Both sides stressed the importance of the talks as it was the
first to be held following Premier Wen Jiabao's ice-thawing visit to Japan
last month during which the East China Sea issue was brought
up.
The two countries reached consensus on speeding up efforts to
work out a joint development proposal for "relatively large waters,
which is acceptable for both sides" and reporting measures on the
joint development to the leaders of the two countries this
fall.
Calling the talks "a new beginning" for both sides, Hu said
China is ready to make joint efforts with Japan to push forward
consultations.
Sasae was quoted as saying on his arrival in Beijing on Thursday
that the Japanese side hoped to hear "positive and specific views"
presented by China during the talks.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said on Thursday that
China wanted to promote the negotiation process and achieve a joint
development plan at an early date, and reiterated China's
opposition to a demarcation line proposed by Japan.
She said China has not and will never accept the median line and
will not accept the median line as the basis for discussing joint
development.
(China Daily May 26, 2007)