Baseball game in Beijing part of Fukuda’s spring-ushering visit

BEIJING—An early-morning baseball game between Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda became another light-hearted anecdote during Fukuda’s visit to China, which has been dubbed a trip “ringing in the spring of Japan-China relations”.
The 15-minute game of catch between Wen, 65, and Fukuda, 71, took place in a stadium at the Diaoyutai State Guest House here on Saturday morning. The game, which wasn’t on the formal agenda, was squeezed into a busy day, sources with the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
Fukuda said when meeting with Wen on Friday that “after Premier Wen’s visit to Japan this April, I asked the Premier to play catch with me when we had a chance, but I have not received a reply.”
Wen quickly responded that he would find time to play catch with Fukuda.
Wen arrived at the stadium a little before Fukuda and jogged to warm up for the game. The Chinese Premier donned the same gray outfit that he had worn when playing baseball at Japan’s Ritsumeikan University in April. Fukuda wore a white jersey and a red cap.
Both dropped a few balls but drew cheers from the crowd when making a good toss or catch.
“Both Premier Wen and Prime Minister Fukuda were on a professional level. It wasn’t easy to catch some of the balls they threw,” said Feng Qifeng, a Chinese player who practiced with the two leaders.
The demonstration of sportsmanship followed a “heart-to-heart” dialogue on Friday, as both stressed joint efforts to promote bilateral relations, saying “spring has come” for China-Japan ties.—Xinhua