China and Japan should develop a friendly and cooperative relation in the spirit of "drawing lessons from history and looking to the future," Chinese President Jiang Zemin said Monday in a meeting with visiting Japanese NGO members.

Representatives from 53 NGOs from both China and Japan gathered in Beijing to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the normalization of Sino-Japanese relations.

Sino-Japan Relations to Be Enhanced: Jiang

During his a meeting with the representatives from 23 Japanese non-governmental organizations (NGO), Jiang stressed that China and Japan should continue to be friends from generation to generation, and that the youth of the two countries should continuously push forward bilateral friendship.

He went on to say that China and Japan should enhance mutual understanding and trust, expand reciprocal cooperation and aim for common development, which, in his words, is in the fundamental interest of the two countries and conducive to peace and stability in Asia and the world at large.

Noting that China and Japan are neighbors separated by a narrow strip of water and they have enjoyed a long history of friendly contact, Jiang stressed that the Chinese government has always attached importance to Sino-Japanese relations and bilateral non-governmental friendship.

Jiang stated that in the past years, friendship groups and personages from both sides have played an important role in promoting the normalization of Sino-Japanese ties, the signing of the Sino-Japanese treaty of peace and friendship, and the development of bilateral relations.

Stating that this year is the 30th anniversary of the normalization of bilateral diplomatic relations, Jiang pointed to the NGO meeting which was participated in by representatives from a total of 53 NGOs from both sides.

He said that the meeting fully demonstrated the aspirations and enthusiasm of peoples from all walks of life of both countries for the development of Sino-Japanese friendship, which is of positive significance.

He said he hoped that NGOs and people from both countries would make new contributions to bilateral friendship in the new century.

Common Prosperity Makes Contributions: Yoshiro

Yoshiro Hayashi, president of the Association of Dietmen League for Japan-China Friendship, said that there have been great progress in bilateral personnel contacts and economic and trade exchanges in the past three decades.

China has also made outstanding economic growth in this period of time, he added.

He noted that the common prosperity and development of Japan and China will make contributions to peace and development in Asia and the world at large, and he hoped that the two countries would strengthen exchanges and cooperation and enhance mutual understanding in the 21st century so as to enhance bilateral friendship.

Sino-Japanese Ties Marked by NGOs

Representatives of 53 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from China and Japan gathered in Beijing Monday to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the normalization of Sino-Japanese relations.

Addressing the meeting, Song Jian, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and president of the China-Japan Friendship Association (CJFA), said the presence of so many organizations at the gathering reflects the general aspiration of the two peoples to develop the friendship and the broad basis of the friendship between the two nations.

Yoshiro Hayashi, president of the Japanese Association of the Dietmen League for Japan-China Friendship, said the two sides should increase dialogues and exchanges to further promote their relations. He said no matter how times fluctuated, the friendly ties would continue on with the younger generation.

Recalling the time when China and Japan normalized their relations, Zhang Xiangshan, an advisor to the Chinese Association for International Understanding and the CJFA, expressed his hope that leaders from the two countries would honor their commitments and lead people to participate in activities conducive to China-Japan friendship.

Chen Haosu, president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, said a healthy and steady China-Japan relationship would be conducive to world peace and stability. He expressed his hope that the two countries would strictly abide by the principles laid down in the three political documents regarding the bilateral ties, and promote trade and economic cooperation for the prosperity of regional and world economy.

A statement was also jointly issued at the meeting of representatives from the 53 NGOs, calling for concerted efforts from both sides to make contributions to the development of Sino-Japanese friendly ties.

Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan sent a congratulatory message to the meeting. Japanese ambassador to China Koreshige Anami addressed the meeting.

China, Japan Urged to Enhance Friendship

On the 30th anniversary of the normalization of China-Japan relations, 53 non-governmental organizations from both sides issued a statement in Beijing on Monday, calling on the two nations to make efforts for the development of friendly ties in the 21st century.

Highlights of the statement are as follows:

NGOs Expected to Play Due Role

NGOs from the two countries should adhere to the principles laid down in the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement, the Sino-Japanese Treaty of Peace and Friendship, and the Sino-Japanese Joint Declaration, play the due role of unofficial forces and strengthen their cooperation for the healthy and steady development of China-Japan relations.

'Taking the History as a Mirror'

As close neighbors, China and Japan should adhere to the principle of "taking the history as a mirror, and looking into the future" and have a proper attitude towards the lessons of history.

Both sides should work to prevent incidents which might undermine bilateral friendship, and when they do occur, handle them with due care.

China's WTO Accession Brings New Opportunities

China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) offers new opportunities for the further development of trade and economic cooperation between China and Japan.

Both sides should work hard to promote bilateral trade and economic cooperation for the common prosperity of both nations and peace and development in the Asia-Pacific region.

Exchanges Activities to Be Strengthened

Colorful and diversified exchange activities should be carried out in spheres like politics, economy, technology, culture, sports, tourism, women's affairs and local governments to enhance mutual understanding and trust, remove any misunderstanding and estrangement, and construct long-term good-neighborly relations of friendly cooperation.

Interesting exchange activities should also be conducted between the youth of the two nations to familiarize the younger generation with the history, culture, traditional friendship and future development of the two countries, so that they will also cherish the friendship between the two nations.

(People's Daily January 29, 2002)