China hopes Japan to have same sincerity to improve relations, Chinese FM spokesman

China has the sincerity to develop relations with Japan, and hopes Japan to have the same sincerity, especially on the historical and Taiwan issues, according to Qin Gang, spokesman of the Chinese foreign ministry.

"The two sides should run in the same direction, rather than in the opposite way," he told a regular press conference Tuesday.

He said during the visit to China by Japanese Foreign Minister Machimura Nobutaka, Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan met with him and Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing held talks with him, and the two sides exchanged views on bilateral relations in a frank way.

The two sides reached consensus on some points, and agreed to look at Sino-Japanese relations from a long-term and strategic perspective, Qin said, adding that China emphasized the principle of "learning from history, and facing up to the future". Nobutaka agreed with China's viewpoint.

Nobutaka said Japan's invasion into China in modern history brought great damage to the Chinese people. The Japanese side feels deep regret for that and once again expresses deep remorse and apology, he said. The Japanese side will draw profound lessons from history and will continue to adopt a path of peaceful development, according to Qin.

He said the Japanese foreign minister reiterated that Japan adheres to the one-China policy, and renders no support to "two Chinas", "one China, one Taiwan" or "Taiwan independence".

The spokesman said China and Japan are mutually beneficial in economic and trade cooperation that is in the interest of the two sides. "We don't want the cooperation to be affected," he said.

He said the Chinese government attaches importance to the friendly relations with Japan and hopes the two sides would observe the principles defined in the three political documents between the two countries, co-exist peacefully and achieve common prosperity.