Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao held "heart-to-heart" talks with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Friday, and both stressed joint efforts to promote bilateral relations, saying "a spring has come" for China-Japan ties.
Later in the afternoon, Chinese President Hu Jintao and top legislator Wu Bangguo met with Fukuda, respectively, after he spoke at the elite Peking University.
Chinese President Hu Jintao (2nd R) meets with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda (2nd L) at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, capital of China, on Dec. 28, 2007. Yasuo Fukuda arrived here on Dec. 27 for a four-day official visit to China. Friday's talks took place in the Great Hall of the People after a red-carpet welcoming ceremony. Wen said a morning snowfall indicated both "an auspicious and abundant year" and a new start of the China-Japan relations.
Fukuda described their talks as "a heart-to-heart dialogue" and said he was determined to treat bilateral relations earnestly "in the new year to come".
Wen said Sino-Japanese relations had entered "an important period of improvement and development", adding that he would like to work with Fukuda to jointly seize opportunities so as to "promote a new and greater development of strategic and mutually beneficial China-Japan relations".
The premier and Fukuda had a "friendly telephone call" only four days after Fukuda assumed his premiership. They also met over lunch during an Asian summit in Singapore last month. "As it shows, we have established a sound work relationship," the premier said.
Fukuda said that China-Japan relations offered "huge opportunities and responsibilities". Fukuda added he hoped the two countries could cooperate for the future of Asia and the world.
Chinese President Hu Jintao (2nd R) meets with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda (2nd L) at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, capital of China, on Dec. 28, 2007. Yasuo Fukuda arrived here on Dec. 27 for a four-day official visit to China. Wen proposed the two countries should maintain momentum through mutual visits and meetings at various multilateral occasions by the two state leaders and conduct high-level coordination on issues of common concern to achieve enhanced political mutual trust.
He also suggested the two nations should cooperate in such key areas as energy, environment, finance, high-tech, telecom and intellectual property protection to boost the quality and efficiency of China-Japan economic and trade cooperation.
The two countries should further conduct personnel exchanges to strengthen China-Japan friendship, Wen said.
Fukuda's visit, three months after he took office, was the first to China by a Japanese prime minister since Shinzo Abe visited Beijing last October.
It was the third overseas trip of Fukuda's premiership after visits to the United States and Singapore.
Next year, the two countries would mark the 30th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship. Meanwhile, youth exchange programs would be further promoted as the two countries observed the China-Japan Friendly Exchange Year of the Youth in 2008.
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