Japan, China agree to develop ties in spirit of fraternity+

TOKYO, Nov. 20 Kyodo -
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and visiting Chinese Foreign Minister
Yang Jiechi agreed Friday to develop diplomatic ties between the two countries
in a spirit of fraternity, in line with the political philosophy advocated by
the Japanese leader.

Expressing his desire to continue mutual visits by the top leaders of the two
countries, Hatoyama said he wants to visit China next year for the World Expo
2010 Shanghai, which opens in May.
But ''first, I would like Premier Wen Jiabao to visit Japan,'' Hatoyama told
Yang at the start of their 35-minute meeting at the prime minister's office in
Tokyo.
Yang conveyed greetings from Chinese President Hu Jintao and Wen, and said his
meeting with his Japanese counterpart Katsuya Okada on Thursday was
''productive,'' the Japanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
''I want to build win-win relationships based on a spirit of fraternity and
expand them from between Japan and China to the Asian region and the world,''
Hatoyama was quoted as saying by the ministry. ''Doing so, I believe, will lead
to the building of an East Asian community.''
Hatoyama, who has indicated a diplomatic course more independent of the United
States -- Japan's main security ally -- than his predecessors, has advocated
creating the regional bloc as a way for Tokyo to increase its engagement with
the rest of Asia.
Yang said he agreed with ''pushing diplomacy based on a spirit of fraternity,''
according to the ministry. ''I think it is important for both Japan and China
to move proposals forward if they are good, while remaining unconcerned about
which side has proposed first.''
The Chinese foreign minister said Beijing intends to promote regional
cooperation, including the promotion of research into a possible free trade
agreement among Japan, China and South Korea.
In a meeting with Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa the
same day, Yang said Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, who is seen as a leading
candidate to succeed Hu, plans to visit Japan in mid-December to meet with
Hatoyama, a DPJ official said.
Besides asking for Ozawa's support to make Xi's visit a success, Yang said
China is making ''maximum efforts'' to forge closer ties with Japan and called
on the DPJ to collaborate on the forging of the free trade pact and climate
change.
''Japan and China have entered an era of partnership in the history of
humanity,'' Ozawa was quoted as saying. ''Whether it's an FTA or the
environment, if both countries join forces, we can solve (the issues) without
fail.''
On Thursday, Okada and Yang agreed to cooperate toward the resumption of the
six-party talks aimed at denuclearizing North Korea, with the United States set
to hold direct talks with North Korea early next month.
Yang's four-day visit to Japan from Thursday -- the first since the country saw
a change of government in September -- is partly intended to lay the groundwork
for the visit to Japan by Xi.
==Kyodo
2009-11-20 22:45:45