Chinese, Japanese FMs Exchange Views on Bilateral Ties

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, July 31, 2002

Chinese, Japanese FMs Exchange Views on Bilateral Ties

Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan and his Japanese counterpart Yoriko Kawaguchi exchanged views on bilateral relations Tuesday on the sidelines of a series of regional meetings.

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Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan and his Japanese counterpart Yoriko Kawaguchi exchanged views on bilateral relations Tuesday on the sidelines of a series of regional meetings.

"China and Japan are close neighbors and both are important countries in Asia. Although external and domestic environments forboth countries have changed, I believe the importance of the China-Japan ties has been further enhanced instead of weakening," said Tang in bilateral talks with Kawaguchi.

"China and Japan share a wide range of common interests and have good prospects for future cooperation. It is important to settle all existing problems between the two countries in a properway, which will help secure smooth development of bilateral relations in the next stage," he said.

Reiterating China's positions on historical problems between the two countries and the issue of Japanese politicians' visit to the Yasukuni Shrine, Tang noted that historical problems affect fundamentals of bilateral relations.

"The Japanese side should understand that these problems are very sensitive and could have severe consequences. Japan should avoid actions which could hurt feelings of the people in countrieswho had fallen victims to Japan's war-time crimes," he said.

Tang stressed that the Chinese government and people treasure all the progress in bilateral ties which were achieved after many efforts.

"The Chinese side will continue to adopt the policy for good-neighborliness and friendly cooperation with Japan," he said.

China would like to work together with Japan under the guidanceof the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement and other related documents as well as the principle of "taking historical lessons and lookingforward" to promote the friendly cooperation and partnership between the two countries to move forward continuously," Tang said.

Kawaguchi said the Japan-China relations are very important andthe frequent exchanges of views on bilateral, regional and global issues between foreign ministers of the two countries are "very helpful."

She noted that this year will mark the 30th anniversary of the normalization of Japan-China diplomatic ties and is also named as "the Year for Exchange Between Chinese and Japanese peoples." Some10,000 Japanese will attend related celebrations in China.

Kawaguchi said the Japanese side is willing to further enhance mutual understandings between the two countries and the two peoples.

She said she fully understood the importance and sensitivity ofthe historical problems affecting bilateral relations and is willing to make efforts to solve them appropriately.

Tang Jiaxuan also met with ASEAN Secretary-General Rodolfo Certeza Severino and Myanmar Foreign Minister U Win Ang, respectively, Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, the Chinese minister had a working breakfast with his counterparts from Japan, South Korea and from countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Tang will attend a series of events here, including the ASEAN Plus China, Japan and South Korea (10+3) meeting later Tuesday, the ASEAN Security Forum Wednesday and the Post Ministerial Meetings (PMCs) Thursday.

China is a dialogue partner of the 10-member ASEAN, which groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

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