Visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met in Tokyo separately with
several Japanese party leaders Thursday, with the two sides
expressing willingness to further cooperate to promote the
long-term and healthy development of bilateral relations.
Wen met with Hidenao Nakagawa, secretary general of the Liberal
Democratic Party, Akihiro Ota, head of the New Komeito Party,
Ichiro Ozawa, leader of the Democratic Party of Japan, Mizuho
Fukushima, the Social Democratic Party leader, as well as with
Kazuo Shii, leader of the Japanese Communist Party, and several
other party leaders.
Wen said that China and Japan are neighboring countries, and
developing Sino-Japanese ties and expanding mutually beneficial
cooperation are the common wishes of the two nations, and meet the
fundamental interests of the two countries.
The Chinese government has been paying much attention to the
development of bilateral ties, and pursuing a friendly
Sino-Japanese relations policy, the Chinese premier said, adding
that the goal of his visit is to boost bilateral ties and
consolidate the political, economic and social foundation for
bilateral relations.
As this year marks the 35th anniversary of the normalization of
bilateral ties, the two countries face great opportunities for
development, Premier Wen said. As long as the two sides abide by
the three political documents and handle the sensitive issues in
bilateral relations properly, Sino-Japanese relations will move
forward steadily, Wen said.
He added that for many years, Japanese political parties have
been devoted to developing friendly relations with China. The
Communist Party of China (CPC) has made fruitful exchanges with
Japanese political parties, which has deepened mutual understanding
and trust, he said.
The CPC would like to further cooperate with Japanese parties
and push bilateral ties forward in a long-term, healthy and steady
way, Wen noted.
The Japanese side said that Premier Wen's visit boosted the
Japanese people's confidence in the future development of
Sino-Japanese ties.
They said political parties in Japan support the country's
friendly cooperation with China in various fields, and hoped that
the two nations have more exchanges of top-level visits, and enrich
the contents of the strategic, mutually beneficial relations.
They also expressed hope for strengthened bilateral cooperation
in such sectors as environmental protection, energy, exchanges
among the youths of both sides, and coordination in regional and
international affairs.
Wen also met with Daisaku Ikeda, honorary president of Soka
Gakkai, a well-known non-governmental academic institution.
Wen arrived here on Wednesday for a three-day official visit to
Japan. He is scheduled to conclude his tour on Friday.
(Xinhua News Agency April 13, 2007)
