Premier Wen Jiabao and visiting Japanese Prime Minister
Yasuo Fukuda reached a consensus on the East China Sea issue during
their talks on Friday.
The two sides will continue to adhere to the five-point
consensus achieved by the leaders of the two countries in April
2007 in a bid to turn the East China Sea into a sea of peace,
cooperation and friendship.
The two sides have elevated the level of consultation, conducted
earnest and substantive consultation on the concrete solution to
the issue and made positive progress.
The two sides have agreed to conduct vice ministerial-level
consultation if necessary while maintaining the current
consultation framework, and to make joint efforts to reach an
agreement on the solution to the issue at an early date on the
basis of the overall situation of China-Japan relations and
international law.
The solution to the East China Sea issue conforms with the
interests of both China and Japan. The two sides agreed to strive
for an early solution to the issue in the process of the developing
bilateral ties.
"In this process, both sides have made earnest and pragmatic
discussion and achieved positive progress ... I hope a solution
accepted by both sides could be found at an early date."
China and Japan have held 11 rounds of talks on the East China
Sea issue to date.
(Xinhua News Agency December 28, 2007)
