China and Japan will issue a joint document during Chinese Premier's visit next week, Premier Wen Jiabao said on Wednesday.

 

"The joint document will spell out the two countries' aspiration to build a strategic and mutually beneficial relationship, and the meaning and major tasks of this relationship," Wen said while giving an interview to 16 Japanese news organizations.

 

"This is a significant event, ushering in a new era of China-Japan relations," Wen said in the interview, which came ahead of his Japan tour slated for April 11-13.

 

The China-Japan relationship should be based on the principle of enhancing mutual trust, honoring commitments, seeking common ground and respecting differences, Wen said.

 

The two countries should seek equality, mutual benefits and common development, the premier said.

 

Wen also proposed China and Japan look to the future, increase exchanges and consultations and cope with challenges.

 

He also called for the two countries to abide by three political documents which review the past and chart the future of China-Japan ties.

 

The three political documents -- the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement, the Peace and Friendship Treaty and the Sino-Japanese Joint Declaration -- are the cornerstones of stable China-Japan relations, Wen said.

 

"As long as the principles and spirit of the three political documents are observed, China and Japan will develop steady ties," Wen said.

 

China appreciated the fact that Japanese Prime Minister's Shinzo Abe had chosen China as his first overseas destination when he took office as prime minister last September, Wen said.

 

Abe's visit last October was too short to take him to other places in China, Wen said.

 

"During my upcoming tour, I will invite him to visit China this year," Wen added.

 

"Japanese leaders have extended several invitations to President Hu Jintao, and I believe President Hu will visit Japan at a time suitable for both countries," he said.

 

Wen will land in Tokyo next Wednesday and meet with Japanese leaders. He is scheduled to deliver a speech in the Japanese parliament.

 

The three-day tour will also take Wen to Kyoto, where he will visit a university.

 

"I'd like to play baseball with students there," Wen said in the interview.

 

Wen's visit is the first to Japan by a Chinese premier in seven years, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

 

(Xinhua News Agency April 5, 2007)