Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday held a phone conversation with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Noting that China and Japan are close neighbors, Xi, citing an
ancient Chinese saying, stressed that good neighborliness is a treasure
of a country. To maintain and develop friendly and cooperative relations between
China and Japan is in line with the fundamental interests of both
countries and their people, and also conducive to Asian and even global
peace, stability and prosperity, he added. At present, the China-Japan relationship faces both opportunities and
challenges, Xi said, adding that China appreciates the importance the
new Japanese government attaches to maintaining high-level communication
between the two countries. China, he said, stands ready to work with Japan to enhance dialogue
and cooperation, and promote the building of a China-Japan relationship
that meets the requirements of the new era in the spirit of taking
history as a mirror and opening up the future. As the next year will mark the 50th anniversary of the normalization
of China-Japan diplomatic ties, China hopes that the two sides will
revisit their original aspirations and meet each other halfway to
jointly embrace this significant historical juncture and open up new
prospects for the development of bilateral relations, Xi said. Xi pointed out that China and Japan should earnestly learn from both
the positive and the negative experience in bilateral relations,
strictly observe the principles set out in the four political documents
between them, and effectively implement the political consensus that
they are cooperative partners and not threats to each other. The two countries, he added, should properly handle major sensitive
issues concerning history and Taiwan among others, properly manage their
differences, and hold on to the right direction, so as to maintain the
political foundation and overall situation of bilateral relations. They should also strengthen exchanges on state governance and
coordination on economic policy, jointly safeguard a fair and open
environment for trade and investment, and achieve a higher level of
economic complementation and win-win cooperation, so as to bring more
benefits to the people of both countries, Xi added. Calling on the two countries to practice true multilateralism, he
suggested that China and Japan, on the basis of their respective
fundamental interests and the common interests of mankind, carry forward
the East Asian wisdom of seeking harmony without uniformity and working
together, actively promote regional cooperation, coordinate their
response to global challenges, and safeguard world peace, stability and
development. Xi also congratulated Japan on successfully hosting the Tokyo
Olympics, and added that China welcomes Japan to take an active part in
the Beijing Winter Olympics in February next year. For his part, Kishida extended congratulations on China's National Day. Under the current international and regional circumstances, Japan-China relations are entering a new era, he noted. Japan, he added, is willing to work with China to draw important
lessons from the history of bilateral relations, and take the 50th
anniversary as an opportunity to make joint efforts in building a
constructive and stable Japan-China relationship that meets the
requirements of the new era. The two sides should manage their differences through dialogue, he
noted, adding that Japan is ready to work with China to continuously
strengthen economic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, and
intensify communication and cooperation on important international and
regional issues, such as COVID-19 response and climate change. Japan looks forward to the Beijing Winter Olympics taking place smoothly, he added. Both sides deem this conversation to be very timely and important,
and they agree to continue to maintain interaction and communication
through various means, so as to guide the development of bilateral
relations in a right way. Enditem
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