Jiang, who is also general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), told visiting Hatoyama Yukio, head of the Democratic Party of Japan that the two sides should pay more attention to the interests brought about by promoting friendly relations and adhere to the principles guiding Sino-Japanese relations so as to safeguard the friendly and cooperative partnership devoted to peace and development between the two countries.

"We would like to see Japan cooperating with the international community, overcoming economic difficulties, and we wish Japan can stick to the road of peace and development and get along well with all Asian nations," said Jiang.

The Chinese president said that China and Japan have cooperated well in the political, economic and cultural fields since the two countries forged diplomatic ties 30 years ago.

The two sides have signed the documents to guide the development of Sino-Japanese relations and have established a friendly and cooperative partnership devoted to peace and development. This should be valued by the peoples of the two countries and politicians in particular, Jiang said.

Hatoyama Yukio said that President Jiang's explanation of the "Three Represents" thought impressed him a lot when he visited China in December of 2000. He expressed admiration for the achievements China has made in the modernization drive under CPC's leadership and hoped the CPC would make further progress.

He spoke highly of Jiang's comment on learning from history and facing the future, saying that Japan should look seriously at itself and its history of launching its war of aggression, and never again hurt other countries. The friendship between Japan and China should be maintained, he noted.

(Xinhua News Agency June 27, 2002)