China, Japan agree to resolve East China Sea issue

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Source: CCTV.com | 12-29-2007 11:19

China and Japan have agreed to resolve their dispute over natural resources in the East China Sea as soon as possible.

China and Japan have agreed to resolve their dispute over natural resources in the East China Sea as soon as possible.

The consensus came during a meeting between Premier Wen Jiabao and his Japanese counterpart Yasuo Fukuda. And Fukuda stressed that Japan will not support any claims of Taiwan independence.

First on the schedule was a review of the honor guard at the Great Hall of the People.

During their talks, the two leaders agreed that China-Japan relations have entered an important period of improvement and development. And both sides are willing to promote greater development of mutually beneficial relations.

Three agreements were signed on youth exchanges, efforts to tackle climate change and new energy research.

The two leaders told the media that certain progress had been made over the East China Sea dispute.

Wen Jiabao said, "Both of us showed the willingness to explore it together, so that the East China Sea can become a sea of peace, cooperation and friendship.

Fukuda said, "Premier Wen and I confirmed that mutual understanding has been improved and progress has been made on substantial measures to deal with the issue through our discussions. The Premier and I have made up our minds to solve this issue as soon as possible."

Fukuda also reaffirmed Japan's policy on Taiwan.

Fukuda said, "We never support the idea of 'two Chinas' or 'one China,one Taiwan'. We do not support independence for Taiwan. We sincerely hope that Taiwan issue can be resolved in a peaceful way. We do not support the referendum in Taiwan for entry into the United Nations."

Fukuda arrived on Thursday for a four-day visit, his first to China since taking office in September.

Editor:Zhang Ning