China and Japan will issue a joint document during Chinese
Premier's visit next week, Premier Wen Jiabao said on
Wednesday.
"The joint document will spell out the two countries' aspiration
to build a strategic and mutually beneficial relationship, and the
meaning and major tasks of this relationship," Wen said while
giving an interview to 16 Japanese news organizations.
"This is a significant event, ushering in a new era of
China-Japan relations," Wen said in the interview, which came ahead
of his Japan tour slated for April 11-13.
The China-Japan relationship should be based on the principle of
enhancing mutual trust, honoring commitments, seeking common ground
and respecting differences, Wen said.
The two countries should seek equality, mutual benefits and
common development, the premier said.
Wen also proposed China and Japan look to the future, increase
exchanges and consultations and cope with challenges.
He also called for the two countries to abide by three political
documents which review the past and chart the future of China-Japan
ties.
The three political documents -- the Sino-Japanese Joint
Statement, the Peace and Friendship Treaty and the Sino-Japanese
Joint Declaration -- are the cornerstones of stable China-Japan
relations, Wen said.
"As long as the principles and spirit of the three political
documents are observed, China and Japan will develop steady ties,"
Wen said.
China appreciated the fact that Japanese Prime Minister's Shinzo
Abe had chosen China as his first overseas destination when he took
office as prime minister last September, Wen said.
Abe's visit last October was too short to take him to other
places in China, Wen said.
"During my upcoming tour, I will invite him to visit China this
year," Wen added.
"Japanese leaders have extended several invitations to President
Hu Jintao, and I believe President Hu will visit Japan at a time
suitable for both countries," he said.
Wen will land in Tokyo next Wednesday and meet with Japanese
leaders. He is scheduled to deliver a speech in the Japanese
parliament.
The three-day tour will also take Wen to Kyoto, where he will
visit a university.
"I'd like to play baseball with students there," Wen said in the
interview.
Wen's visit is the first to Japan by a Chinese premier in seven
years, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
(Xinhua News Agency April 5, 2007)
