China, Japan fresh communique maps blueprint for future: Scholars

BEIJING—The newly-signed China-Japan joint statement has formulated guiding principles for long-term development of China-Japan ties and mapped out the future for bilateral relations, say Chinese scholars on international relations.
“The statement, with key words ‘strategic’ and ‘reciprocal’, carries forward the China-Japan relations,” said Gao Hong, an expert on Japanese issues with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Chinese President Hu Jintao signed a joint statement on comprehensively advancing strategic and reciprocal relations between the two countries with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda during his state visit to Japan from May 6 to 10, the first by a Chinese president to Japan in a decade.
The statement is considered as the fourth important political document, with the other three being the China-Japan Joint Statement issued on Sept. 29, 1972, the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship signed on Aug. 12, 1978, and the China-Japan Joint Declaration released on Nov. 26, 1998. Great changes had taken place in international society in past 10 years, and the China-Japan ties had also seen “ups and downs”, which called for a new guidance for the growth in bilateral ties, Gao said.
China and Japan overcame political obstacles when Hu and former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met in Beijing in October 2006.To further “thaw the ice”, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited Japan in April last year, followed by Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda’s “spring-heralding” visit to China in December. Xu Dunxin, former Vice Foreign Minister and ambassador to Japan, said the statement served as a bridge “linking past with future”.
Yang Bojiang, expert on Japanese studies of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said, the statement, with “unique Sino-Japanese character”, would enhance the political foundation of bilateral ties, improve strategic mutual trust, and build up a general framework to maintain healthy and stable development of bilateral relations. In order to fulfill the “strategic and reciprocal relations”, the two sides should promote cooperation, deepen mutual trust and enrich exchange activities, Yang said.
This year is the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Japan-China Peace and Friendship Treaty and the China-Japan Friendly Exchange Year of Youth. China and Japan decided to hold 4,000 youth exchanges a year for the next four years.
The statement said the two sides agreed to face history squarely, look forward to the future and make continuous joint efforts to open up new prospects in their strategic mutually beneficial relations. Chinese President Hu Jintao’s just-concluded “warm spring” visit to Japan has opened up new prospects for the development of strategic and mutually beneficial relations between the two countries, Chinese Foreign Minister YangJiechi said on Saturday.
During his state visit, the first by a Chinese president to Japan in a decade, President Hu held fruitful talks with Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, Yang told Chinese journalists accompanying Hu on the tour. During his stay in Japan from May 6-10, Hu met with Japan’s Emperor Akihito, leaders of both houses of parliament and political parties of Japan, as well as old Japanese friends of China, and had extensive contacts with leaders of economic circles, representatives of friendly organizations, young people and people from other walks of life.
The five-day visit, made with a pragmatic approach, has achieved great successes and produced the desired results. The Japanese government attached great importance to President Hu’s visit, Yang said. Emperor Akihito, Prime Minister Fukuda and House of Representatives Speaker Yohei Kono attended many events of Hu’s itinerary, and the Chinese president’s visit was greeted with great enthusiasm by the Japanese public, he said.

—Xinhua