Premier Wen Jiabao said on Wednesday both China and Japan are
making good preparation for their first high-level economic
dialogue, adding he believes the meeting could yield very positive
results.
Wen made the remarks when meeting Yohei Kono, speaker of the
Japanese House of Representatives.
Beijing is going to hold the first meeting of the China-Japan
high-level economic dialogue mechanism this autumn. The mechanism
was jointly launched by Premier Wen and Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe during Wen's Japan trip in April.
Wen said China-Japan ties stood at a stage for improvement and
development, calling on both sides to properly handle sensitive
issues and seize opportunities to step up strategic, mutually
beneficial ties.
With China and Japan as two important economic entities,
bilateral cooperation and common development were in the
fundamental interests of the two peoples.
Kono, also chairman of Japan's Association for the Promotion of
International Trade (APIT), is heading a large business delegation
of more than 60 business people from leading Japanese
enterprises.
Wen called on Japanese businesses to continue actively
participating in China's economic construction and make new
contributions to expanding China-Japan trade and economic
cooperation.
Kono is in China at the invitation of the China Council For the
Promotion of International Trade. He also met with top legislator
Wu Bangguo and Vice President Zeng Qinghong.
He attended a reception marking the 35th anniversary of the
normalization of Japan-China ties on Wednesday evening. Speaking at
the event, Kono said the APIT would continue to strengthen economic
and trade cooperation between the two countries, adding he was
confident of closer Japan-China relations.
Kono will head for China's southwest Sichuan Province to
continue his China tour.
(Xinhua News Agency July 19, 2007)
