Chinese Ambassador to Japan Wang Yi expressed the hope on Friday that China and Japan will make joint efforts to advance their relationship in 2005.

At a New Year reception held by Japanese economic bodies on Friday, Wang said that the bilateral relations were fluctuating last year, with the two sides achieving fresh development in terms of substantial cooperation in all sectors on the one hand, and on the other hand,political relationship still encountering difficulties and obstacles.

He said Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao had elaborated China's principles in dealing with the current bilateral ties at separate meetings with Japanese leaders. They had confirmed the basic line for Sino-Japanese relationship and reiterated that the current problems should be handled in the spirit of "taking history as a mirror and looking forward to the future", which will play an important role in improving and advancing the ties between the two countries.

The reception was joined by about 500 Japanese political and economic dignitaries, including Speaker of the House of Councillors Yohei Kono, President of the House of Representatives Chikage Oogi, and Masahiko Komura, president of the Association of Dietmen League for Japan and China.

Wang said he hopes the new year will be the high time for the bilateral relationship to achieve improvement and development and for the two countries to jointly push forward with the unity and cooperation among Asian nations.

To that end, the political foundation of the Sino-Japanese relations should be maintained, he noted.

He said the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement and two other documents stand as the guidelines in the development of the bilateral relations. Therefore, they should be abided by unswervingly at any time.

Secondly, the two sides need to enhance mutual understanding under the new circumstance. As profound adjustment and reform are under way in both countries, it is necessary to acquire deeper recognition and understanding to each other and to establish mutual trust in real terms.

Thirdly, as close neighbors, it is crucial to respect each other, especially not to conduct actions which damage the interest of the other one and hurt the feeling of its people. Only in this way, can the Sino-Japanese ties develop smoothly.

Wang also stressed that the traditional friendship between the Sino-Japanese people should be strengthened. To solve the problems at present, it needs not only the efforts from the governments, but also from the people and friendship organizations.

Wang pointed out that the current complicated situation of bilateral ties reflects that the relationship is experiencing a transitional period. Both countries need to handle the existing problems in a timely and sound way on the one hand, and seek a sustainable framework for the long-term development of bilateral relations on the other.

Source: Xinhua