In his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori Friday morning, Zhu said he hoped that the two countries could increase trust and dispel suspicion in the political area through his visit, and enhance and broaden mutually beneficial economic co-operation.

As a sign of this, the two sides formally launched a telephone hotline between the two governments, and agreed to strengthen and expand dialogue on bilateral security issues.

They agreed to increase military exchanges, and to realize visits of navy vessels to the other country.

The Chinese premier, who arrived here Thursday night for a six-day official visit, was given a red-carpet welcome by Mori, in which all the Japanese cabinet members attended.

Zhu told his counterpart during their talks that the mainstream of bilateral relations is good, and the two countries have made substantial achievements in their exchanges and co-operations in all fields since they established diplomatic relations in 1972, which have brought tremendous benefits to both sides.

He reiterated that both sides should strictly abide by the rules of the 1972 Sino-Japanese Joint Statement, the 1978 Sino-Japanese Treaty of Peace and Friendship and the 1998 Sino-Japanese Joint Declaration, three key documents which have laid the foundation for the development of bilateral ties.

However, both old and new problems in bilateral exchanges have surfaced now and then, hampering the normal development of ties, Zhu was quoted by a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying.

In Japan, some opinions and trends regarding history, Taiwan and security have harmed the trust of the Chinese people towards the country. On the other hand, Japan also has developed some suspicions and worries towards its neighbour. Some Japanese even believe that China has become a threat to Japan.

“Statesmen of both countries should attach great importance to the problems, and handle them promptly and adequately so as not to let them disturb the overall friendly situation,” Zhu said.

The Chinese premier said China and Japan, as close neighbors, have developed a long tradition of exchanges.

As Chinese President Jiang Zemin has repeatedly pointed out, “drawing lessons from past and looking into the future” has been China’s consistent attitude towards Japan in treating this chapter of history.

“The important thing is that Japan should learn a lesson (from its wartime past), and not let the tragedy happen again,” Zhu was quoted as saying.

Mori said he agreed that learning from history and facing the future should be the principle for developing Japan-China co-operation.

He said the Japanese Government is willing to confront seriously that part of history, and has expressed remorse in the 1972 Joint Statement and 1998 Joint Declaration, and also in a formal statement by Japanese prime minister in 1995. This is also the consensus of most Japanese people.

He reiterated that it has been the Japanese Government’s consistent policy to observe the 1972 Joint Statement, which serves as the foundation for developing bilateral relations.

Zhu said economic and trade co-operation has been a key component of bilateral friendly relations, and that he hoped that both sides would work actively to explore new areas and means of co-operation.

He said the economic recovery of Japan and the region, and China’s expected accession into the World Trade Organization, will bring opportunities for further co-operation.

He pointed out that the two sides could join particularly in China's go-west campaign, and in high-tech and environmental protection areas.

Mori said it will organize a delegation consisting of both officials and non-government personnel to inspect the region.

Zhu promised to properly handle some specific issues regarding the improvement of investment conditions in China.

The two sides also exchanged views on strengthening collaboration in banking and insurance sectors.

Mori said Japan is willing to push forward regional co-operation in East Asia within the framework of 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plus Japan, China and the Republic of Korea (10+3), and would like to strengthen co-operation with China on the matter.

The two sides agreed to hold an exhibition in China in 2002 on the achievements of bilateral economic co-operation to mark the 30th anniversary of the normalization of relations. They will also host a Chinese and Japanese Cultural Year in 2002 in Japan.

In the afternoon, Zhu met respectively with Speaker of Japanese House of Representatives Tomisuke Watanuki and President of the House of Councilors Juro Saito.

Crested ibis, a rare species in China, again became a symbol of Sino-Japanese friendship yesterday, as Premier Zhu, on behalf of the Chinese Government, gave another ibis to Japan.

President Jiang Zemin presented a couple of crested ibises as a gift to Japan during his visit here in 1998. The birds, near extinction in the country, are ardently cherished by the Japanese people.

The Chinese premier attended a banquet given in his honour by seven Japanese non-governmental organizations Friday.

He said he hoped the seven organizations would explore new ways for fostering people-to-people contact.

Last night, Zhu attended a banquet given by Yoshiro Mori in his honour.

“Japan and China are close neighbours. Because of this, suspicious surfaced frequently," said the Japanese prime minister at the banquet.

“We must have a good master of the overall situation of the friendly co-operation. By strengthening mutual understanding and trust, we should continue to make greater efforts for the establishment of the real partnership relations.”

(China Daily 10/14/2000)