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Chinese, Japanese Leaders Agree to Hold Regular Talks |
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Wednesday, 7 May 2008
The leaders of China and Japan have agreed to hold regular face-to-face meetings in the interest of restoring and improving relations.
Chinese President Hu Jintao and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda made the pledge Wednesday as they ended a summit in Tokyo.
In a joint statement, the two leaders promised to hold regular bilateral meetings between the Asian powerhouses, including leadership summits and talks at international gatherings.
During a joint press conference, Mr. Hu and Mr. Fukuda said the two nations were close to reaching an agreement on the long-standing territorial dispute over the East China Sea and its abundant undersea natural gas reserves.
Mr. Fukuda also praised China for holding talks with representatives of the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, in the wake of Beijing's harsh crackdown of anti-government protests in the Himalayan region.
The Japanese leader says he hopes the upcoming Beijing Olympics will be a success, but that he has not decided whether to attend the opening ceremony in August.
The Chinese leader arrived in the Japanese capital on Tuesday, making him the country's first head of state to visit Japan in a decade.
He and Mr. Fukuda were also expected to discuss climate change, Japan's treatment of its wartime invasion of China, and anti-Japanese protests in China.
Relations between Tokyo and Beijing have improved recently after a long period of tension. Most of the problems arose from former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to the controversial Yasukuni war shrine that honors Japan's war dead, including a number of war criminals.
More recently, the two countries have squabbled over illnesses caused in Japan by a shipment of Chinese dumplings contaminated with pesticide. However, trade between the two Asian nations continues to improve - last year it totaled nearly $237 billion.
By VOA News
07 May 2008 |
Wednesday, 7 May 2008
China
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