Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda arrived in Beijing on
Thursday afternoon for the start of an official visit, which runs
until Dec. 30.
On Friday, Chinese leaders Hu Jintao and Wu Bangguo will meet with him, and Chinese
Premier Wen Jiabao will hold talks with him, a key part
of his four-day visit, which has been widely portrayed as a trip to
warm up ties.
Before heading to China, Fukuda told Xinhua and other Chinese
media in his Tokyo office that he was "glad" to visit China and
would discuss with Chinese leaders the building of strategic,
mutually beneficial relations.
"I expect to further promote the development of Japan-China ties
so that next year, bilateral ties can develop even faster and move
to a new stage," he said.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang described Fukuda's
visit as "important", saying that it would have great significance
in improving China-Japan relations.
China hoped that his visit would promote mutual trust in
politics and boost bilateral cooperation in various fields, and
thus help maintain and develop warming ties, Qin told a regular
press conference on Thursday.
A report by Kyodo News said that Fukuda would also raise the
topics of resources development in the East China Sea and possible
cooperation in environmental issues, referring to a proposal to set
up a Japan-China fund aimed at helping China's efforts to tackle
environmental problems.
Addressing the East China Sea issue, Qin said that China and
Japan did have differences but "China was willing to resolve the
issue appropriately as soon as possible, based on the consensus
reached by leaders of the two countries and the principle of
putting aside disputes and seeking joint exploration."
China hoped that the two sides would take a "substantive" step
forward in joint resources development in the East China Sea, Qin
said.
During Fukuda's visit, he will also deliver a speech at the
prestigious Peking University, visit a primary school in Beijing,
and tour Tianjin, a city neighboring Beijing, as well as Qufu in
Shandong Province, the hometown of Confucius.
In Tianjin, Fukuda will inspect the Binhai new area, an economic
development zone consisting of more than 6,300 companies, including
over 70 joint ventures among the world's top 500 companies.
"Tianjin, home to many Japanese-funded companies, is an
important city in north China and its development has been listed
as a key goal in China's 11th Five-Year Plan," said Qin Gang. "We
expect Prime Minister Fukuda to have a deeper understanding of the
economic cooperation between China and Japan through this visit,"
Qin said.
When discussing Fukuda's visit to Qufu, Qin said that he
considered it would give the Japanese leader a better understanding
of Chinese culture, as Confucius has been admired by the people of
both countries.
The trip, which is taking place three months after Fukuda took
office, is another important step to boost bilateral ties,
following the "ice-breaking" visit by then Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe last October and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's
"ice-thawing" trip to Japan this April.
China-Japan relations have entered a period of steady growth
after a series of jolts and readjustments, and resumed diplomacy
between the top leaders is an important sign, said Jin Xide, a
researcher at the Institute of Japanese Studies of the Chinese
Academy of Social Sciences.
"Diplomacy between China and Japan is developing to a new phase
of learning about each other's real situation and directly speaking
to the people of each other's country," Jin said.
(Xinhua News Agency December 28, 2007)
