At forum, Chinese officials highlight gains from relations built on respect

Senior Chinese officials stressed the principle of win-win collaboration as a key means of advancing China-Japan relations while addressing a high-end forum that opened on Wednesday.

Beijing and Tokyo should work together to ensure the success of each nation, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a recorded video speech for the 18th Beijing-Tokyo Forum.

The forum was inaugurated in 2005 as an annual event, and it has emerged as one of the largest high-end platforms between China and Japan in hosting public diplomacy and nongovernment interactions.

In addition to win-win collaboration, calls were also heard for interactions between the two sides to be "based on credibility".

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, and next year marks the 45th anniversary of the signing of the Sino-Japanese Treaty of Peace and Friendship.

In his speech, Wang called on the two sides to take these two anniversaries as great opportunities to revive the original aspirations of 50 years ago, reaffirm the treaty's spirit of joint opposition to hegemony, and push for the lasting, stable progress of the relations in order to ensure they stay on the right path.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, noted that major and sensitive issues such as history and Taiwan, which bear on the political foundation of bilateral ties, should be handled properly in particular and relevant commitments must be honored.

These issues need commitments fulfilled with actions, they should be properly treated, and efforts should be made to make sure "the line is not crossed", he said.

In the first nine months of this year, the value of bilateral trade reached $270.4 billion.

Wang said this figure fully manifests the potential and resilience of the economic and trade cooperation between China and Japan.

China will further push for high-quality development and expand higher level opening-up, he said, adding that Beijing welcomes Japan taking up a share of the enormous opportunities resulting from this trend, he said.

He called for vigilance against "malicious disturbance and containment targeting Sino-Japanese economic and trade collaboration", and he urged that joint efforts be made against unilateralism. Opposition to the concept of economic decoupling, with disruptions to supply chains, should also be voiced, the minister said.

Sun Yeli, deputy director of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, said the two sides should stay tuned to the right direction of seeking peace and friendship, and they should tighten their bonds founded on shared interests by deepening economic and trade cooperation.

Also, the two sides should promote cultural exchanges and build on the good faith among the peoples of the two countries, he said.

Mass media and think tanks are expected to step up their exchanges and collaboration to ensure that reasonable voices are better heard, and that people garner genuine knowledge and wisdom for the Sino-Japanese friendship.

He also voiced hope for deepening exchanges and interactions among young people, including teenagers, in order to cement the foundations of the bilateral friendship.

Common tasks, missions

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, in a recorded video speech for the event, said Japan and China have achieved remarkable progress in areas such as politics, the economy and culture, as well as through exchanges of visits, as guided by the strategic thinking and political courage of leaders from the two countries.

There is broad space for further cooperation as the two neighbors face common tasks and missions, he said.

Japan and China are expected to embark on candid dialogue and deepen their collaboration in their capacities as major countries that shoulder a duty to promote peace and prosperity in the region and beyond, Hayashi said.

At the forum, prominent figures, including former Japanese prime minister Yasuo Fukuda, underlined the key role of both countries in promoting peace, stability, and development, and in jointly addressing global challenges.

It is hoped that Beijing and Tokyo can work on boosting mutual trust and respect, and build a relationship in which the peoples of the two countries treat each other with an open mind and sincerity and join hands for win-win results, Fukuda said.