FM calls for promoting E China Sea talks process

BEIJING—Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao Thursday called on Japan to make joint efforts with China to promote the process of the bilateral consultations on the East China Sea issue.
“China is ready to promote the consultations in accordance with the consensus reached between leaders of the two countries and the guidelines of relevant principles, and will contribute to the realization of joint development to maintain stability in the East China Sea. We hope Japan will make joint efforts with China for the goal,” said Liu at a regular press conference.
Liu also implied that the results of the latest round of consultations, held on Wednesday, would not influence the plan of a visit by Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda Yasuo to China.
“China and Japan, both influential countries in the region, attaches great importance to the relations with each other. The two share broad common interests and cooperation fields, and the East China Sea issue is just one part of China-Japan relations,” said Liu.
“China attaches great importance to high-level visits between China and Japan, and we welcome Prime Minister Fukuda to visit China at an early date. We also expects that his visit will make active achievements and further promote the cooperation and the improvement and development of relations between China and Japan,” Liu added. Chinese and Japanese diplomatic officials Wednesday held talks over the East China Sea issue in Tokyo, the 11th round of consultations over the matter.
The two delegations, led by Hu Zhengyue, director general of the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Department of Asian Affairs, and Kenichiro Sasae, head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau respectively, exchanged views in a frank and thorough-going way on joint development of the East China Sea, Chinese diplomatic sources said.
During the consultations, the Chinese side expressed the wish to solve differences through friendly consultations so as to realize joint development.
The Chinese side is willing to push forward consultations in accordance with the consensus reached between leaders of the two countries and the guidelines of relevant principles, and will contribute to the realization of joint development to maintain stability in the East China Sea, the sources said.—Xinhua