China's NPC Chairman Meets with Japanese Association Head 　　Li Peng, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), said in Beijing on May 19 during a meeting with Yoshiro Hayashi, president of the Japanese Association of Dietmen League for Japan-China Friendship, that he hoped Japan would stick to pursuing peace and development. 　　Li said that advancing Sino-Japanese good-neighborly friendship is the aspiration of the two countries' people and is in the interest of the two countries. 　　They should make joint efforts to push bilateral ties forward by carrying out the agreements reached during Chinese President Jiang Zemin's Japan visit last year, he said. 　　Li said the Association, the largest organization for Sino-Japanese friendship in the Japanese Diet, has played an important role in furthering bilateral ties. 　　He said he hoped that Hayashi and his colleagues in the Association would make greater efforts to promote Sino-Japanese relations. 　　He said that Japan has explained the acts concerning the new Japan-U.S. Defense Guidelines to China many times but that it is more important to see how Japan will act. He said China hopes that Japan would adhere to peaceful development. 　　Hayashi said that the attack on the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade was a tragic event and he expressed his condolences. He said he fully understands the Chinese people's feelings. 　　Li said that the attack was a serious thing and that it was very natural that it aroused the indignation of the Chinese people and the strong reaction of the Chinese government and that President Jiang Zemin explained China's stance clearly in his telephone conversation with President Bill Clinton. 　　The Japanese are here at the invitation of the NPC Foreign Affairs Committee. (Xinhua) HomeNews 1999-05-20 Page1 Full Story in Chinese