China's new proposal to address the East China Sea issue is "rational and constructive," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang in Beijing Thursday.

According to Qin, China hopes the Japanese side will "seriously study" the proposal, which was tabled at the conculsion of the fourth round of consultation on the East China Sea issue two days ago in Beijing.

China's proposal "complies with the actual situation in the East China Sea and reflects the principle of 'putting differences aside and making joint development'," Qin said.

Should the Japanese side play up the issue in an effort to divert attention to the Japanese leader's visit to the Yasukuni Shrine, the move would not be conducive to Sino-Japanese relations or solution to the East China Sea issue, Qin pointed out.

His remark referred to the repeated visits by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to the Yasukuni Shrine, where 14 class A war criminals of World War II are enshrined. The visits have outraged China and other countries victimized by Japan during WWII and triggered strong protests.

The Diaoyu Islands and the surrounding islets are part of Chinese territory and China holds indisputable sovereignty over the islands, he said.

Japan refused to accept the Chinese proposal by assuming that "the Diaoyu Islands are Japanese territory". Such rhetoric can not hold water, he said.

On the development of the Chunxiao oil and gas field, Qin said that the development was carried out within the Chinese offing so that such development is the normal activity of China to exercise its sovereign rights. During the consultation, China has time and again stated such a stance to the Japanese side, he said.

Japan's proposal tabled in the third round of consultation proceeded from Japan's unilateral viewpoint, he said, adding that China could not accept it.

Qin said the 'middle line' claimed by Japan in the consultation was a unilateral proposal. "China has not and will never accept the proposal," he said.

"China will not discuss the joint development with the precondition of accepting 'the middle line'," he stressed.

During the just concluded consultation, which was described as "pragmatic and constructive" by an anonymous Chinese diplomat, the two sides exchanged views on joint exploitation and agreed to hold the next round of consultation at an early date.

Hu Zhengyao, director of the Asian Department of Chinese Foreign Ministry, and Kenichiro Sasae, head of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Japanese Foreign Ministry, participated in the consultation as heads of the Chinese and Japanese delegations, respectively.

Since October 2004, China and Japan have held four rounds of consultations on the East China Sea issue.

Source: Xinhua