Chinese Premier Meets Two Japanese Political Party LeadersVisiting Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji on Sunday met with leaders of two Japanese major political parties and exchanged views with them on bilateral ties and issues of common concern.In separate meetings with Japan's opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) Chairman Takako Doi and Japanese Communist Party (JCPZ) Chairman Tetsuzo Fuwa, Zhu praised Japanese political parties for their positive contributions to the development of Sino-Japanese relations and the promotion of friendly exchanges between the two countries. The Chinese premier expressed the hope that Japanese political parties would continue their efforts to create favorable environment and conditions for the further development of Sino-Japanese ties so as to enable the two peoples to get along with each other from generation to generation. Referring to the recent easing of tensions on the Korean Peninsula, Doi and Fuwa stressed that Japan should keep pace with the current trend and make efforts for peace and prosperity in Asia. Friendly cooperation between Japan and China in this field is very important, they said, adding that they are willing to continue efforts to promote exchanges between the two countries in various fields, especially exchanges between the two peoples. During the meeting, Zhu also rebutted a fallacy advocated by some Japanese right-wing forces that China's increased military spending has posed a threat to Japan. The amount of China's military spending this year has not reached one third of Japan's military spending, how could it be said that China has posed a threat to Japan, Zhu asked. China has always pursued a peaceful diplomatic policy and is willing to coexist peacefully with other countries in the world, especially neighboring countries, Zhu said, adding that China will not or can not pose any threat to any other countries including Japan. Zhu, who is in Japan on a six-day visit starting from October 12, also met separately with leaders of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party, New Komeito Party, New Conservative Party and Democratic Party of Japan on Friday. |
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