China has high hopes that the first joint study between China and Japan on history will proceed well, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said yesterday.

 

Beginning next Tuesday, the joint study will unite two 10-member teams from China and Japan to conduct the research.

 

"I hope the experts from the two countries can do the study on the basis of principles of the three political documents and face history in a correct manner," Qin told a regular news briefing.

 

Mutual understanding of objective history can be enhanced through the study of 2,000 years of ties between China and Japan as well as modern and post-WWII history, he said.

 

President Hu Jintao and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed in October to begin the joint history research by the end of the year.

 

The two nations' foreign ministers further set the release for the study's outcome at the end of 2008.

 

Turning to the ongoing six-party nuclear talks, Qin said the negotiations have entered a stage of "earnest, candid and pragmatic discussion on substantial issues."

 

"I hope all parties can continue to make concerted efforts to press ahead the talks in a patient manner," he said.

 

Qin confirmed that 25 bilateral consultations have been conducted in the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse so far.

 

On this stage, Qin said, all parties voiced their respective stance that helps to narrow down the differences and expand consensus.

 

(Xinhua News Agency December 22, 2006)