China, Japan kick off new round of consultation on East China Sea issue

Chinese and Japanese diplomats started new round of consultation in a bid to solve dispute on the East China Sea issue on Monday.

Hu Zhengyao, director of the Asian Department of Chinese Foreign Ministry, and Kenichiro Sasae, head of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of Japanese Foreign Ministry, headed the two delegations in the two-day consultation.

"We need to solve the East China Sea issue through dialogues, which is even more important given the difficulties faced by China-Japan relations." Hu said at the beginning of the talks.

He acknowledged that difference does exist between the two sides on the East China Sea issue. "However, our goal is to get over difference and seek cooperation," he added.

He expressed his belief that the two sides can find a proper solution to the issue through their joint efforts.

Sasae said it takes a relatively long time before the new round of consultation is launched and expressed his hope that the talks can achieve progress.

Since Oct. 2004, China and Japan have convened three rounds of talks on the East China Sea issue.

Source: Xinhua