This treaty was signed in Beijing on August 12, 1978. The treaty stipulates that the two parties shall develop lasting peaceful and friendly relations between the two countries on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. The two parties affirm that in their mutual relations, all disputes shall be settled by peaceful means without resorting to the use or threat of force. They shall endeavour to further conduct economic and cultural cooperation between the two countries and to promote exchanges between the peoples of the two countries. Neither of the two parties shall seek hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region or in any other region, and both parties are opposed to efforts by any other country or group of countries to establish such hegemony. The two parties affirm that the present treaty shall not affect the position of either signatory regarding its relations with a third country. On October 23 of the same year, Vice-Premier Deng Xiaoping attended the ceremony held in Tokyo for exchanging the instruments of ratification of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship Between China and Japan, and the Treaty went into effect.