| Friday, November 09, 2001, updated at 14:54(GMT+8) |
Chinese President Meets Japanese Guests |
 Chinese President Jiang Zemin met Thursday afternoon with "two old friends of China" -- former Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Muraya and JCFA President Ikuo Hirayama. They held friendly talks on common concers and diplomatic relations normalization.
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Welcoming Old FriendsChinese President Jiang Zemin met Thursday afternoon with "two old friends of China" -- former Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, who is heading a delegation of the Japan-China Friendship Association (JCFA), and JCFA President Ikuo Hirayama.
Jiang spoke highly of the contribution made by Tomiichi Murayama and Ikuo Hirayama to the friendship between China and Japan, and thanked JCFA for their efforts to promote non-governmental exchanges.
Jiang said that China and Japan, two important nations in the Asia-Pacific region, should work together for the peace and stability in Asia and the world at large.
The Chinese government attaches importance to its ties with Japan and wants to develop China-Japan relations in line with the principle of "viewing history as a mirror and looking forward to the future," he said.
Preparing for the 30th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations NormalizationThe year 2002 is the 30th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan. Jiang expressed the hope for two countries to make the most of the opportunity and cooperation at all levels.
Tomiichi Murayama, also JCFA's honorary adviser, said that the joint statement signed by the two countries during Jiang's 1998 Japan visit called for a friendly and cooperative partnership devoted to peace and development, making brighter prospects possible for Japan-China relations in the 21st century.
He said the JCFA will be well-prepared for the 30th anniversary celebrations so as to promote the solid development of bilateral ties and contribute to the stability and development of the Asia-Pacific region.
Ikuo Hirayama briefed Jiang on JCFA's ongoing preparations for the celebrations in 2002.
On September 25 1972, Premier Zhou and Japanese Prime Minister reached agreement on a host of important issues relating to the normalization of relations between China and Japan. On September 29 1972, heads of the two governments signed the "Joint Statement of the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of Japan" which states that, as on the date of publication of this statement, the abnormal state of affairs between the two countries is declared terminated. The "Japanese side is keenly aware of Japan's responsibility for causing enormous damages to the Chinese people in the past through war and deeply reproaches itself".
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