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A turning point in ties, says Hu Jintao

Pallavi Aiyar

Holds frank talks on many issues with Japanese Premier Abe

— PHOTO: AFP

BREAKING THE ICE: Chinese President Hu Jintao (right) with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe prior to their meeting in Beijing on Sunday.

Beijing: After a gap of five years, the leaders of Japan and China held an ice-breaking summit in Beijing on Sunday that puts frayed bilateral relations between two of East Asia's most important economies back on track.

Chinese President Hu Jintao called the visit of Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe a "turning point" in relations.

"Your ongoing visit is serving as a turning point in China-Japan relations and I hope it would also serve as a new starting point for the improvement and development of bilateral ties," Mr. Hu told Mr. Abe.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Liu Jianchao said at a press briefing both sides held "frank talks" on many issues and that the meeting went on far longer than scheduled. Mr. Abe also met Premier Wen Jiabao and chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Wu Banguo.

Shrine visits

The deterioration of China-Japanese relations in recent years is mainly related to the former Japanese Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi's repeated visits to the Yasukuni shrine, a war memorial that commemorates Japanese soldiers who died in various wars and that includes 14 leaders convicted as class A war criminals.

According to China these prime ministerial visits symbolised a lack of genuine atonement on the part of the Japanese for their wartime atrocities. Mr. Abe has thus far been vague regarding his intentions vis-à-vis the shrine, calling any visit a "domestic matter."

While refraining from stating explicitly whether or not Mr. Abe has given any assurance on the issue, Mr. Liu said the two nations had reached an "important consensus on overcoming political obstacles that affect the development of bilateral relations."

Analysts say "political obstacle" is a phrase intended to refer to the shrine issue. There is speculation that Mr. Abe may have reassured Beijing that he will not visit the shrine during his tenure or that he will keep any visit a low-profile personal affair.

Mr. Liu also said both sides had agreed that addressing the "history question properly was key to the development of ties."

He said Mr. Abe expressed "deep remorse" over Japan's World War II invasion of China and that he vowed "never to glorify Japanese militarism and never to gloss over the role of Class A War Criminals."

N. Korean issue

Mr. Abe and Mr. Hu also discussed North Korea's recent declaration that it would conduct a nuclear test. Mr. Liu said both sides were "deeply concerned" about the North Korean situation. They agreed the best solution forward was resumption of the six-party talks that broke down over a year ago.

He added that China hoped "all parties [involved in the North Korean issue] showed the requisite flexibility needed to address each other's concerns."

Japan has been championing a tough stance against North Korea while China and South Korea have thus far preferred a more conciliatory approach, favouring dialogue over sanctions.

Mr. Abe's visit is deeply symbolic being his first foreign visit as Prime Minister. Japanese Premiers have traditionally gone first to the U.S.

He will fly to South Korea on Monday for another fence-mending meeting with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun.

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