Chinese President Jiang Zemin met Thursday with "two old friends of China": former Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, who is heading a delegation of the Japan-China Friendship Association (JCFA), and JCFA President Ikuo Hirayama.
Jiang spoke highly of the contributions made by Tomiichi Murayama and Ikuo Hirayama to the friendship between China and Japan, and thanked friends in JCFA for their efforts to promote non-governmental exchanges and advance the bilateral friendly relations between the two countries.
Jiang said that China and Japan, two important nations in the Asia-Pacific region, should deal with each other as friends and benefit from mutual learning, because a positive relationship is conducive to peace and stability in Asia and the world at large.
The Chinese Government attaches importance to its ties with Japan and wants to develop China-Japan relations in line with the principle of "viewing history as a mirror and looking forward to the future," he said.
The year 2002 is the 30th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan. Jiang expressed hope that the two countries would make the most of the opportunity and further propel friendly exchanges and co-operation between the two countries at all levels.
Tomiichi Murayama, also JCFA's honorary adviser, said that the joint statement signed by the two countries during Jiang's 1998 Japan visit called for the building of a friendly and cooperative partnership devoted to peace, creating brighter prospects for Japan-China relations in the 21st century.
He said the JCFA will be well-prepared for its 30th anniversary celebration so as to promote the solid development of bilateral ties and contribute to the stability and development of the Asia-Pacific region.
Ikuo Hirayama briefed Jiang on JCFA's ongoing preparations for the celebrations in 2002.
(Xinhua News Agency November 9,2001)
