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FM: President Hu's Japan visit not postponed
By Rong Xiandong/Zhao Huanxin (chinadaily.com.cn) Updated: 2008-03-12 11:05 Chinese president Hu Jintao will pay a state visit to Japan in the near term, the first visit by Chinese President to the neighbor in the new century, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said in Beijing Wednesday.
Yang said both Chinese and Japanese peoples expect President Hu's visit to Japan in spring, which is a beautiful season in Japan. "There is no such an issue as postponement of President Hu's visit," said Yang at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual parliamentary session. Foreign affairs departments of the two countries are discussing details of the visit. He made the remarks when answering questions from a Japanese journalist on whether President Hu's state visit to Japan, scheduled for this spring when cherries are in full bloom, would be postponed to some time after May. "This visit will be a historic one, which will boost relations between the two countries," Yang said. Through the visit, China hopes to improve the mechanism of exchanges to place the bilateral relations between the two neighbors on a long-term, health and stable development track. On the East China Sea issue between China and Japan, Yang said the case is complex and he believes that it is undesirable to set a deadline for bilateral consultation. Chinese and Japanese leaders reached four new consensus on the issue during Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's visit to China and agreed to find early solutions that serve the overall interests, Yang said. The foreign ministries of the two countries are building on the current progress and are discussing new solutions, he added. Responding to the so-called "poisoned dumpling incident", Yang suggested more cooperation between Chinese and Japanese police departments for an earlier and just clarification of the case. "We hope relevant departments of the two sides, the police in particular, can have more communication and cooperation in a cool-headed, fair, objective and scientific manner to conduct coordinated investigation and find the truth as early as possible, " said Yang. He believed it necessary to establish a long-term China-Japan food safety cooperation mechanism to carry out more timely and effective cooperation, adding both Chinese and Japanese expect such a mechanism can be set up at an early date. He stressed China had conducted very serious and responsible investigation into the incident and had timely released initial investigation results, adding that the Chinese government had been taking food safety very seriously for consumers at home and abroad. China-Africa Cooperation Commenting on China's engagement and cooperation with Africa, Yang said the partnership and friendship is a driving force behind rapid African economic development. Yang said that "if one wants to comment on China-Africa cooperation, he should first respect the will and views of the African people." African countries and people welcome China, he noted. "We're committed to a new strategic partnership with African countries and this partnership is based on sincerity, friendship, equality, mutual support, and common development." The Chinese foreign minister said the African countries have the right to choose their own partners of cooperation, and they have the right to translate their advantage in resources into advantages in development, and to translate the potential advantages into real advantages through cooperation. Climate Change Yang reaffirmed China's stance on climate change, saying it is "unfair and unscientific" to blame China for greenhouse gas emission and climate change. The combined emission of three Chinese were less than that of one person from developed countries on average, he added. |
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