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Landmark China-Japan deal agreed
By BBC
The Japanese prime minister told reporters he “rated highly” Mr Hu’s decision to hold talks with representatives of Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
But Mr Hu said the Dalai Lama would need to stop “acting to separate the homeland” and “inciting violent acts” for the talks to succeed.Beijing has made similar allegations several times since recent unrest in and around Tibet. The Dalai Lama denies any role in the unrest and says he is not seeking independence for Tibet.
Positive viewThe deal signed by Mr Hu and Mr Fukuda was the fourth such agreement since 1972.”The two nations agreed that Japan and China both share larger responsibilities for the world’s peace and development in the 21st Century,” a joint statement issued after the summit read.
“Leaders of the two states will develop ways for regular exchanges, with one leader visiting the other in principle every year.
“After the meeting, Mr Fukuda said the two leaders had pledged to work to resolve a dispute over gas deposits in the East China Sea.”We agreed a solution is in sight for the long pending issue of developing resources in the East China Sea as Japan and China have held meaningful discussions and made significant progress,” Mr Fukuda told a joint news conference.
Mr Hu also made upbeat comments to reporters following the talks.
“We both believe relations between China and Japan are at a new starting point,” he said.His visit is the first by a Chinese leader since 1998, when incumbent Jiang Zemin caused controversy by lecturing Japan’s politicians on their country’s wartime past.
China suspended high-level contact with Japan from 2001 to 2006 during the premiership of Junichiro Koizumi, who made repeated visits to the Yasukuni war shrine, a place most Chinese believe glorifies militarism.Mr Fukuda has promised not to visit the shrine while he is in power and has called for Japan to be humble about its past.
China has now overtaken the US as Japan’s top trading partner, with bilateral trade increasing 12% last year to $236.6bn.
And analysts say this increasingly important economic relationship has played a vital role in warming the ties between the two nations.

Japan, China issue joint document on mutually strategic relations
05/07/2008BY THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao signed a joint statement Wednesday on promoting “relations of mutually strategic interests” without referring to “apologies” or “reflection” over Japan’s wartime actions in China.The summit between Fukuda and Hu earlier Wednesday was their first since Fukuda visited China in December last year.Hu arrived in Tokyo on Tuesday for a five-day visit, the first by a Chinese president since his predecessor, Jiang Zemin, arrived here in 1998, which was the last time a joint statement had been signed by the two countries.At the start of their meeting at the Prime Minister’s Official Residence, Fukuda extended “a hearty welcome to Hu’s visit in the year marking the 30th anniversary of the treaty of peace and friendship that Japan and China sealed.”Hu responded that Japan and China are blessed with an opportunity to further expand their ties.The document said the leaders of the two countries will reciprocate visits each year.By not directly mentioning Japan’s atonement for its role in China before and during World War II, the joint statement sets the stage for a future-oriented approach toward improving ties. Instead, the statement said both countries will “continue to explore a new phase of bilateral relations by squarely facing history.”The Chinese side in the joint statement said it appreciates the fact that “Japan has maintained a path as a pacifist country for more than 60 years after the end of World War II.”The statement also said Beijing “thinks much of Japan’s standing and role in the United Nations,” but it did not include a direct expression pointing to China’s support of Japan’s bid to become a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council.As for the Taiwan issue, Japan maintained its position made clear in the 1972 joint declaration when Tokyo and Beijing normalized diplomatic ties. Japan said in the declaration that it “fully understands and respects the position of the Chinese government.”The joint document fell short of directly referring to China’s crackdown in Tibet, which has sparked criticism from around the world.But the statement said Japan and China will “cooperate closely to promote understanding and the pursuit of basic and universal values acknowledged by the international community.”The document was also vague on the possibility of joint development of gas fields in the East China Sea. It simply spelled out the principles of making the sea an area of “peace, collaboration and friendship.”The two leaders confirmed in the document that Tokyo and Beijing will be actively involved in building an international framework for fighting global warming in and after 2013, when the Kyoto Protocol expires.China in another statement on climate change said for the first time that Japan’s proposed sector-specific approach to curbing greenhouse gas emissions was an “important measure.”(IHT/Asahi: May 7,2008)

Chinese president, Japanese PM discuss closer bilateral ties
BY XINHUA
TOKYO, May 7 (Xinhua) — Visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda held talks in Tokyo Wednesday on furthering the strategic and mutually beneficial relations between the two countries.Chinese Foreign Ministry officials said the two leaders discussed bilateral relations and other issues of common concern.The two leaders are expected to attend a signing ceremony for mutual cooperation documents and meet the press following their talks.Earlier in the day, the Chinese president met Japanese Emperor Akihito, who hosted a welcome ceremony for the visiting Chinese leader.Hu arrived in Tokyo Tuesday for a five-day state visit aimed at boosting bilateral relations. This marks the first visit by a Chinese head of state to Japan in 10 years.In a written statement issued at the airport upon his arrival in Tokyo, the president said the development of a long-term stable and good neighborly relationship between China and Japan is in the fundamental interests of both countries and both peoples.Hu expressed the hope that his visit will help enhance mutual trust, strengthen friendship, deepen cooperation and inspire plans for the future. He added that China will work together with Japan to open up new prospects for comprehensively pushing forward their strategic and mutually beneficial relations.Hu’s visit to Japan is seen as a step to further improve the once-chilly relationship between the neighbors, which began to warm with former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s “ice-breaking” visit to China in October 2006. That event was followed by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s “ice-thawing” trip to Japan last April and Fukuda’s “spring-herald” visit to China last December.In an interview with Japanese journalists in Beijing on Sunday, Hu described his visit to Japan as a “trip of warm spring” and wished for a “warm spring for the friendship between the two peoples.”