China, Japan should hold on to right direction for bilateral ties: Chinese FM

BEIJING -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday that China and Japan should jointly conform to the major trend of times and hold on to the right direction for bilateral ties to benefit both peoples in a better way, and inject more positive energy into Asia and the world at large.

Wang made the remarks in a phone conversation with Japan's new Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, noting that China and Japan are major countries in the region and, respectively, the world's second and third largest economies.

Since Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida took office, Chinese and Japanese leaders have conducted positive interactions, Wang said, noting that Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Kishida have reached important consensus that the two countries should build a relationship that meets the requirements of the new era.

The two sides, he suggested, should make plans based on the consensus, and take the 50th anniversary of the normalization of China-Japan diplomatic ties next year as an opportunity to advance the bilateral relationship along the right track towards long-term stability.

Wang said the Communist Party of China (CPC) successfully convened the sixth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee earlier this month, which stressed the CPC has always paid attention to mankind's future and destiny from a global perspective and has always stood on the right side of history and the side of human progress.

Wang called upon the Japanese side to observe the principles set out in the four political documents between China and Japan, view China's development objectively and rationally, and put the political consensus that the two countries are cooperative partners and not threats to each other into policies and actions.

He also urged efforts to make sure there will be no wavering, backtracking, and line-crossing on major issues concerning history, Taiwan and others, which matter to the political foundation of China-Japan relations and basic trust and faith between the two sides.

Wang said the two sides should strive to achieve a higher level of complementary advantages, mutual benefit and win-win results, jointly safeguard the stability of global industrial chains and supply chains as well as a fair and open trade and investment environment, and promote the high-quality development and improvement of the people's well-being in both countries.

The two sides should give full play to their unique advantages of geographical proximity and cultural affinity, and take the Beijing Winter Olympic Games and the China-Japan Cultural and Sports Exchange Promotion Year in 2021 and 2022 as an opportunity to create a positive public opinion and social atmosphere, he said.

As important countries in the region, China and Japan should be aware of their international responsibilities, jointly practice true multilateralism, and resist any attempt to provoke separation, confrontation or even a new Cold War, Wang said.

Wang noted that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership will come into effect in January next year, and China and Japan will reach bilateral tariff reduction arrangements for the first time.

Both sides should make joint efforts to lead the process of promoting regional cooperation and integration in Asia, he added.

Wang pointed out that Japan and the United States are allies, while China and Japan are neighbors that cannot be moved away.

Noting that China and the United States are communicating on strategic issues concerning the future of the two countries, Wang said it is hoped that Japan can grasp the general trend, bear in mind the common interests of Japan and the region, and properly handle its relations with China and the United States.

For his part, Hayashi said that at present, the international community is in a period of major changes, Asia is becoming increasingly important, and China has been developing rapidly.

The international community has paid more attention and expectation to Japan-China relations, he added.

Japan is willing to work with China to take the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries next year as an opportunity to strengthen dialogue and exchanges, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, enhance people-to-people exchanges, properly manage differences, shoulder the responsibilities in confronting global challenges, implement the consensuses such as "not threats to each other," and advance the building of stable and constructive Japan-China relations, said Hayashi.

Wang expounded China's principles and stance on issues concerning the Diaoyu Islands, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and the South China Sea.

The two sides also exchanged views on international and regional issues of common concerns.