Frequent Japan-China summit meetings sought to improve ties+

TOKYO, Nov. 2 Kyodo - Intellectuals from Japan and China recommended Tuesday that the two countries try to improve ties strained over maritime collisions in September near disputed islands in the East China Sea by holding summit and other high-level
meetings frequently.

Members of the new Japan-China friendship committee for the 21st century, an
advisory panel to the two governments, said at a joint press conference in
Tokyo they recognized gaps over the disputed Japan-held Senkaku Islands, which
are also claimed by China, as they discussed the matter in their two-day
meeting in Niigata through Monday.
Taizo Nishimuro, an adviser to the board of Toshiba Corp., who headed the
Japanese delegation, said members of the panel basically agreed that it would
''not at all benefit either party if the two countries play up'' the
territorial dispute and that they should explore solutions to the row ''over
the long term.''
Former Chinese State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan, who led the Chinese delegation,
said both Tokyo and Beijing should ''certainly work out ways to prevent a
recurrence'' of the maritime collisions.
He was critical of Tokyo over the incident as he said the country ''escalated
its actions in a way which had not been seen over the past several decades.''
Tang also said the two countries should ''try to build an atmosphere under
which they can surely achieve positive results.''
The friendship committee brings together nine Japanese and 12 Chinese people in
various fields. The panel held the second meeting in Niigata with a composition
of new members, following their first session in February in Beijing.
Members include Japanese astronaut Mamoru Mohri, novelist Jiro Asada and Chen
Jian, former Chinese undersecretary general of the United Nations.
==Kyodo