Envoy urges Japan to jointly uphold multilateralism, free trade system

As Beijing looks to marking the 80th anniversary this year of victory in World War II, Chinese Ambassador to Japan Wu Jianghao has called on people in Japan and around the globe to jointly safeguard justice, the postwar international order and world peace.

In an interview on the sidelines of this year's two sessions, the annual meetings of China's top legislative and political advisory bodies, Wu, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, also urged Tokyo to reject malicious competition directed at China and work together to uphold multilateralism and the global free trade system.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War.

When asked how he views the approach adopted by people in Japan toward history, Wu said, "The history issue is one of the most sensitive issues in China-Japan relations."

China has noticed that Japan recently said it will "face up to history and look to the future", while right-wing forces in the country are still denying the history of aggression and glorifying wars of aggression, he said.

He quoted Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who said at a news conference on Friday: "Guarding against the revival of militarism is a duty Japan must carry out without a moment's relaxation. This is also the firm resolve of the Chinese and Asian people that will not be challenged."

Wu said, "We are ready to work with all peace-loving and righteous people in Japan and around the world to champion human conscience and justice, the postwar international order, and the lasting peace between China and Japan and in the world."

In November, President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba held a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima, Peru.

The ambassador said that since that meeting, "China and Japan have carried out a series of positive interactions", and the bilateral ties "have shown a momentum of improvement and development".

"When it comes to whether China-Japan ties will be able to break away from the past circle of ups and downs, my understanding is that only by sticking to the political foundation will we be able to advance steadily and make lasting progress," Wu said.

The principles set out in the four landmark China-Japan political documents, especially the solemn commitments made by Japan on major issues such as history and Taiwan, "constitute the political foundation of China-Japan relations, which must be firmly maintained and honored, and do not allow for even the slightest ambiguity or backpedaling", he said.

He emphasized the need to follow the leaders' consensus to "bolster positive factors, manage and control contradictions and divergences, rule out external disturbances, and promote stable improvement and development of bilateral relations along the right track".

Regarding Taiwan, Wu stressed that "Taiwan-related issues are a prominent point of risk in current China-Japan ties".

He warned that some Japanese political figures have been colluding with "Taiwan independence" separatist forces in a high-profile manner, and helping them seek "independence" and make provocations, in a bid to thwart China's national reunification efforts.

Wu reaffirmed that "using Taiwan to cause trouble is actually inviting trouble for Japan".

"We will constantly convey this solemn position to the Japanese community, underscoring that China is bound to reunify and will eventually reunify," he said. "Anyone's attempt to separate Taiwan from China will never be allowed by the Chinese people."

Wu said that China has always adopted a positive and open mindset and is willing to tap complementary advantages and achieve higher levels of win-win cooperation with Japan.

"But if the Japanese side fails to reject its competitive and defensive mentality and persists in imposing various restrictions on China, it will only make its own path narrower and narrower," he said.

The next step for upgrading China-Japan cooperation is to enhance the promotion of technology and innovation, while new quality productive forces, emerging industries and the digital economy can be new highlights for growth, he said.

"In the face of serious uncertainties in the current international economic situation, China and Japan also need to work together to oppose unilateralism and protectionism and to jointly safeguard multilateralism and the global free trade system," he said.

On the topic of people-to-people exchanges, Wu welcomed more Japanese friends to visit China.

"We will also continue urging the Japanese government to adopt tangible measures to facilitate the exchange of visits between China and Japan based on the principle of reciprocity and mutual benefit," he said.