Vice President Zeng
Qinghong urged the people of China and Japan to join efforts to
normalize bilateral ties. He said this during a meeting with a
delegation from the Japanese Social Democratic Party (SDP) led by
party leader, Mizuho Fukushima, yesterday in Beijing.
Chinese and Japanese should work together to conquer
difficulties so as to promote the development of bilateral ties and
ensure that the two countries are friendly from generation to
generation, Zeng said.
"The
China-Japan relationship is currently faced with serious
difficulties and China is not the one who should shoulder the
responsibility," he said.
He said the visits of Japanese leaders to the Yasukuni Shrine,
which honors convicted class-A World War II criminals along with
other war-dead, have seriously hurt Chinese people's feelings and
impaired the political foundation of Sino-Japanese ties.
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited the shrine in
October, the fifth time since he took office in April 2001.
Describing China and Japan as close neighbors and countries of
great regional influence, Zeng said the development of
Sino-Japanese relations concerns not only the fundamental interests
of the two peoples but also the prosperity and stability of Asia,
and the whole world.
China values relations with Japan, he said, expressing the hope
that the two countries bear in mind the three political documents
reached between the two countries and realize peaceful coexistence,
friendship, reciprocal cooperation and common development with the
attitude of taking history as a mirror and looking forward to the
future.
He also expressed his appreciation to the SDP, saying
that?it has played an active role in promoting the friendly
cooperation between China and Japan.
He said the Communist Party of China (CPC) will join efforts
with the Japanese party to push forward Sino-Japanese ties.
Fukushima said the Japanese leaders' visits to the Yasukuni
Shrine?are a major obstacle to the healthy development of
bilateral ties and her party is firmly opposed to it.
She said the SDP believes that Japan should face up to its
historical responsibility and adhere to peaceful development.
She said the relations between Japan and China are important and
her party will continue making efforts to promote bilateral
cooperation.
Tomiichi Murayama, Japan's former prime minister who was at the
meeting as an advisor to the Japanese delegation, said the
friendship between Japan and China was established and cultivated
by the older generations of leaders and efforts should be made to
bring the bilateral ties back to normal.
Wang Jiarui, head of the International Department of the CPC
Central Committee, also met with the delegation yesterday to urge
Japanese politicians and parties to seek an appropriate solution to
the crucial problem in bilateral relations.
The China-Japan relationship is currently confronted with
difficulties, he said. Both Chinese and Japanese politicians and
political parties should have a good overall view of the situation
if they are to handle the difficulties in a responsible manner and
with long-term perspective.
Murayama said the SDP and Japanese media shoulder the
responsibility of helping the youth to acquire more knowledge about
history as well as the harm and damage the war brought to both
countries.
(Xinhua News Agency December 8, 2005)