China, Japan reach consensus on stabilizing, developing bilateral ties, stressing the two sides should ‘be partners, not threats’
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida have reached a five-point consensus on stabilizing and developing bilateral relations, stressing that the two countries should “be partners, not threats”, South China Morning Post said.
During their meeting Thursday, the two sides agreed that the importance of China-Japan relations has not and will not change, and both sides need to abide by the principles of the four China-Japan political documents, follow through on the political consensus that the two countries should “be partners, not threats,” SCMP said quoting Xinhua News Agency.
They agreed that the two sides should intensify high-level exchanges and communication to constantly improve political mutual trust and jointly build a constructive, stable and important China-Japan relationship fit for the new era. Both sides agreed to hold a new round of the China-Japan High-level Economic Dialogue at an early date, strengthen cooperation in fields including energy conservation and environment protection, green development, health care and rehabilitation, as well as old-age care, and jointly provide a fair, non-discriminatory and predictable business environment for enterprises.
The two sides spoke highly of the series of activities commemorating the 50th anniversary of the normalization of China-Japan relations this year, and agreed to hold a new meeting of the high-level consultation mechanism on people-to-people exchanges at an early time, and facilitate exchanges and communication through channels between governments, political parties, legislatures, localities and youth.
Another consensus reached by the two sides is to open a direct telephone line of the maritime and aerial liaison mechanism under their defense departments at an early date, improve dialogue and communication between defense and maritime departments, and jointly abide by the four-point principled agreement reached in 2014.They agreed to jointly take the responsibility for maintaining international and regional peace and prosperity, enhance coordination and cooperation in international and regional affairs, and strive to meet global challenges.
Xi met with Kishida for the first time on Thursday in Thailand on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders’ meeting, during which Xi said China is ready to work with Japan to grasp the general direction of bilateral relations from a strategic height and build a China-Japan relationship that meets the demands of the new era.
Noting that China and Japan are close neighbors and both are important countries in Asia and the world, Xi said that the two countries share many common interests and space for cooperation, and that the importance of the China-Japan relationship has not changed and will not change, Xinhua reported on Thursday.