China-Japan ties anniversary affected

BEIJING - Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said next week's 40th anniversary of normalization of China-Japan diplomatic ties have been ruined by Japan's erroneous action of illegally buying the Diaoyu Islands.

"China and Japan previously hoped that they could further promote bilateral ties through this occasion," said Hong at a daily press briefing Friday.

"But due to Japan's erroneous action of illegally buying the Diaoyu Islands, many plans have been ruined, and many activities have been affected at present. The Japanese should bear the responsibility."

When asked about the current China-Japan economic and trade relations, Hong said that obviously the economic ties have been affected by the illegal "purchase".

"This is a situation that we are reluctant to see," he said. "The Japanese should face squarely the reality, correct the erroneous action and come back to the track of resolving the dispute through dialogue and negotiation."