Japan talks would be 'significant'

Foreign Ministry expects countries to hold high-level talks on historic and bilateral issues

Beijing said on Friday that top-level meetings with Japan bear special significance but have to win the understanding of the people.

The remarks came one day after Natsuo Yamaguchi, the head of the Komeito party, a junior partner in Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition, handed over a letter from Abe to President Xi Jinping before the president met a group of senior Asian political figures.

He also invited Xi to visit Japan in the spring to "see the cherry blossoms".

The Foreign Ministry said on Friday at a daily briefing that in the letter Abe expressed the wish to realize a meeting between Chinese and Japanese leaders on the sidelines of international conferences.

Premier Li Keqiang, South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Abe are expected to meet in Seoul late this month or early next.

Xi and Abe are also scheduled to attend upcoming international meetings, such as the G20.

"We believe high-level exchanges bear special significance in improving bilateral relations. Of course, it has to be based on understanding and support of the people of the two nations," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters.

Beijing expects the two sides can work together to build favorable conditions for such meetings, she said.

Also on Friday, Liu Yunshan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, told Yamaguchi that Beijing expects to work together with Japan to properly handle historic issues and promote bilateral ties.

"The Party and the Chinese government have all along viewed China-Japan relations from a strategic height and a long-term perspective," Liu said during his meeting with Yamaguchi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

In November, the two countries issued a "four-point principled consensus" on improving relations that have been hampered by the Abe administration's stance on territorial and historic issues.

"Based on that, bilateral dialogues in various fields and at various level shave gradually resumed, while the overall atmosphere of bilateral ties have improved," Liu said.

State Councilor Yang Jiechi, the highest-ranking Chinese diplomat to make an official trip to Tokyo for several years, met Abe on Wednesday in Tokyo.

"We hope Japan can work together with China to continue pursuing the path of peaceful development, properly handle historic issues, improve emotions of the people and beef up practical cooperation," Liu said.

Gao Hong, deputy director of the Institute of Japan Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Yamaguchi and his party, which follows a path of peace, has played a positive role in Beijing's relations with Tokyo.

lixiaokun@chinadaily.com.cn