Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao Tuesday elaborated on China's position on the Cheonan incident and important issues in Sino-Japan ties during an interview with Japanese public broadcaster NHK in Tokyo.

Impartial stand on Cheonan incident

Wen reiterated China's pledge to take an "impartial" stand on the sinking of South Korean warship, the Cheonan.

What China had in mind in approaching the incident was maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, he said.

China attached importance to the joint investigation conducted by South Korea and other countries and the reactions of various parties, and would take its position on the basis of truth and facts, he said.

Wen said China would seek information from various sources and seriously study it before making clear its stand in "a fair and objective manner".

China appealed for calm on the part of the concerned parties to avoid a further escalation of tension and even conflict, he said.

Japan, China should take road of peaceful development

Wen said both China and Japan should take the road of peaceful development.

The peoples of the two countries should promote mutual understanding, trust and cooperation between them, he said.

"Japan's pacifist constitution adopted after World War II stipulates that Japan should follow the road of peaceful development, which has brought tangible benefits to Japan in terms of rapid economic growth and greatly improved standards of living for the Japanese people," Wen said.

China never to seek hegemony

Wen pledged China would stick to the road of peaceful development and would never become a threat to other nations.

China would never seek hegemony, he said.

The Chinese premier also said China followed a defense policy whose sole purpose was self-defense.

China had never taken away any piece of territory from other countries, he said.

A journey of confidence and hope

Wen described his visit to Japan as successful, saying it had deepened trust, enhanced cooperation and consolidated the foundation for friendship between the two countries.

"The visit is successful," he said.

Important agreements were reached at his talks with Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, including re-establishing a hot line between the heads of the two governments, creating a maritime communication mechanism between the two defense departments and speeding up the establishment of a maritime rescue agreement, Wen said.

The two sides also discussed ways to strengthen bilateral economic and trade cooperation, and identified the green economy, energy and environmental protection and e-commerce as priority areas for cooperation, he said.

The Chinese premier also called for promoting bilateral cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

During the interview, Wen also touched upon some domestic issues, including political reform and measures the government has taken in tackling the widening gap between the rich and the poor in China.