Protests by a handful of individuals during President Hu Jintao's current visit to Japan would not stop the development of Sino-Japan ties, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Thursday.

"These are done by a tiny number of individuals," Qin told a press conference.

"We believe the majority of Japanese people are friendly to China. We believe they and the Japanese government support our efforts and resolution to safeguard China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity," Qin said.

He said China appreciated the Japanese government's clear and absolute stance on the Tibet issue.

Qin rebuffed the clamour of the Tibet secessionist and Japanese right-wing activists: "Tibet will always be an inalienable part of China and the progress of Tibet will not be blocked."

"The noises made by those tiny number of persons will not impede the wheels of Sino-Japan ties, nor stop the trend of Sino-Japan friendship," Qin added.

(Xinhua News Agency May 9, 2008)