Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said in Hanoi Thursday that China
and Japan should make joint efforts to properly handle sensitive
issues between the two countries so that the overall bilateral
relations will not be disturbed.
Li made the remarks when meeting his Japanese counterpart on the
sidelines of the ministerial meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC), stressing that the Japanese side should
properly handle the issue of Taiwan.
Since the recent visit to China by Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe, Sino-Japanese relations had improved remarkably and
been put back on normal track of development, he said.
"This is the hard-won result through the joint efforts of both
sides, which we should cherish dearly," he said.
Li pointed to the fact that both sides should actively promote
exchanges and cooperation in such sectors as economy and trade,
culture, youth and defense, to consolidate the development trend of
bilateral relations and elevate the mutual-beneficial relations to
a new high, he said.
The minister said that China and Japan had agreed to hold the
first academic meeting on the joint study of history within this
year.
Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso said that since Abe's visit
to China, the exchanges of visits by high-level officials of the
two countries had increased markedly, with bilateral cooperation
and exchanges in all sectors enhanced.
"The Japanese side is willing to join hands with the Chinese
side to further promote the trend," he said.
On the issue of Taiwan, he said that there had been no changes
on the Japanese government's position and that the government will
handle the issue in accordance with the principles set in political
documents such as the joint declaration of Japan and China.
The two ministers also exchanged views on regional issues of
common concern.
(Xinhua News Agency November 16, 2006)
