The Foreign Ministry said yesterday that at the invitation of
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe, Premier Wen Jiabao will pay an official visit to the
two countries from April 10 to 13.
Ministry spokesman Qin Gang made the announcement at a regular
news briefing.
Wen will begin his "ice-thawing" trip to Japan on April 11,
advancing efforts to establish strategic and mutually beneficial
bilateral ties. The three-day tour will be the first by the Chinese
premier in seven years as the two countries work to improve
relations chilled by former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi's repeated visits to a war shrine.
Wen will fly to Tokyo from Seoul, where he is expected to stay
for two days to attend the opening ceremony of the "Year of
Exchange," a program celebrating the 15th anniversary of diplomatic
ties between China and South Korea.
According to Japanese sources, Wen will hold a summit meeting
with Abe and also make an official visit to Emperor Akihito and
Empress Michiko. Additionally, a speech at the Japanese Parliament
during his stay is on a tentative schedule.
The two nations also hope to hold a major energy seminar during
Wen's visit with participants from government ministries and
leaders of about 100 Japanese and Chinese energy firms.
Wen said earlier this month that he was expecting to establish a
strategic relationship of mutual benefit between China and Japan
and set up an economic cooperation mechanism during his Japan
tour.
Wen's remarks were echoed by Abe, who told a news conference
yesterday that his Chinese counterpart's visit would provide an
opportunity to build a strategic relationship.
Abe chose China as the destination for his first overseas trip
after taking office in September, a move that is believed to have
improved bilateral ties.
"Our cooperation based on active discussions will lead to peace
and prosperity in the region," Abe was quoted as saying.
He said he will seek Wen's support to resolve the kidnapping
issue with North Korea, and also wanted to win China's support for
Japan's bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
In response to Abe's comments, Qin Gang expressed sympathy and
understanding toward the abduction problem but said it was still an
issue between Tokyo and Pyongyang, which should be resolved through
negotiations.
With regard to the Security Council seat, Qin said it "required
multilateral dialogues to decide and would involve many
countries."
He also rebutted a Japanese Defense Ministry report that called
China's growing influence in Asia a threat to Japan's national
security, saying China hopes to have good relations with its
neighbors across the entire region.
Meanwhile, China and Japan have agreed to hold talks in Tokyo
tomorrow over the gas field disputes in the East China Sea,
according to Qin.
Hu Zhengyue, director of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's
Department of Asian Affairs, and Kenichiro Sasae, director-general
of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs
Bureau, will attend the meeting as top negotiators.
Qin said the two countries have different views in this area but
"we believe joint development is the best way to resolve the
differences."
Similar dialogues have been held six times since October 2004,
but an agreement has yet to be reached.
Other visits
Qin announced that Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing will visit Islamabad from April 1
to 2 at the invitation of his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid
Kasuri.
Following his Pakistan tour, Li will fly to New Delhi to attend
the 14th summit of the South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation (SAARC) there from April 3 to 4.
This is the first time a Chinese delegation will attend the
SAARC summit since China became an observer state, Qin said, adding
that "We welcome the move by the SAARC to absorb China as one of
its observers."
As a friendly neighbor of the SAARC, Qin said, China is willing
to conduct exchanges and cooperation with the organization based on
equality and mutual benefit so as to contribute to development and
prosperity of the region.
The SAARC is an important regional organization and China always
supports the cooperation between SAARC members, Qin said.
Founded in 1985, the SAARC includes Bhutan, Bangladesh, India,
Maldives, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan. China, Japan,
South Korea, the US and the EU are observers of the
organization.
Qin also announced that Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega,
Spanish first deputy prime minister and minister for the Prime
Minister's Office, will visit China from April 2 to 8.
Premier Wen and State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan will meet with her
to confer on bilateral relations and issues of common concern.
Fernandez de la Vega is scheduled to attend the opening ceremony
of the "Year of Spain," scheduled to be held in China.
Besides Beijing, she will also visit Shanghai, China's economic
hub, and Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province.
Qin said Sino-Spanish relations have been developing well in
recent years, adding that both countries have had frequent exchange
of high-level visits, and set up a strategic partnership.
The two countries also enjoy close cooperation in the fields of
trade, culture, education, science and technology, he said.
China and Spain will hold a series of activities this year,
including the "Year of Spain" in China and a Chinese cultural
festival in Spain, Qin said.
"We believe such activities will help promote mutual
understanding and further push forward bilateral ties," he
added.
Taiwan issue
In response to some Latin American countries' purchase of
Taiwan's jet fighters, including Chile and Mexico, Qin expressed
China's firm opposition over any official and military exchanges
between Taiwan and any countries having diplomatic ties with the
Chinese mainland.
"All the countries in the world, including those Latin American
countries, are quite clear about China's principled stance on the
Taiwan issue," Qin said.
"We hope those Latin American countries can properly handle
relevant issues based on the one-China policy they acknowledged,"
he said.
Qin also expressed China's firm opposition to and strong
dissatisfaction over Saint Lucia's receiving of Taiwan's "foreign
minister," saying it violated the principle sustaining China-Saint
Lucia ties.
Recently, the Saint Lucia government had allowed the "foreign
minister" to visit, and arranged meetings between him and leaders
of the country.
The Chinese ambassador has already made a firm statement to the
Saint Lucia government about the issue, Qin said.
China hopes the Saint Lucia government will abide by the
one-China principle established in the communiqué, and promote the
stable development of bilateral ties, he added.
"In addition, I need to point out that the Taiwan authorities
tried to use all kinds of despicable means in an attempt to create
'two Chinas' in the international arena in order to realize their
political aim of Taiwan seceding from China and harm the friendly
ties between China and the countries having diplomatic ties with
it," Qin said.
Such an attempt is doomed to failure, he added.
(Xinhua News Agency, China Daily March 28, 2007)
