2010-05-31 06:57

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Sunday called for the proper handling of the serious consequences of the March sinking of a South Korean warship, and efforts to gradually ease tensions in the region over the incident.

"The pressing task for the moment is to properly handle the serious impact caused by the Cheonan incident, defuse tensions in the region, and most importantly of all, avoid possible conflicts, " Wen said.

Wen was speaking at a joint press conference following a two-day summit meeting with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on the South Korean resort island.

Wen urged the Northeast Asian nations to help maintain regional peace and stability.

"We must spare no effort to promote peace and stability in Northeast Asia. Short of this precondition, development will be out of the question, and the hard-won achievements will be lost again," he stressed.

"China will continue to enhance communication with relevant parties (over the Cheonan incident) in order to steer the situation toward a direction which is conducive to peace and stability in Northeast Asia. This is in our best common and long-term interests," Wen said.

As the region is facing many new challenges, China, Japan and South Korea should strengthen coordination between them, appropriately deal with sensitive issues and increase mutual political trust, Wen said.

Efforts to Boost Economic Ties

Wen called for further efforts to establish the mechanism and framework of cooperation among China, Japan and South Korea in line with a blueprint mapping out cooperation in the region over the next decade.

He made the call at a trilateral summit on South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju also attended by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.

The Chinese premier said the three countries should take into account one another's major concerns and properly handle sensitive issues so as to enhance political mutual trust and maintain peace and stability in the region.

This, he stressed, constituted the most important basis for deepening trilateral cooperation.

He noted that in tackling global financial crisis, the three countries have maintained close communication and coordination in their joint efforts to oppose trade protectionism, deepening and broadening cooperation in all fields, thus achieving economic revival and growth in bilateral trade.

The premier called for greater input by the three countries to consolidate the economic recovery while continuing to implement appropriate policies. Meanwhile, they should adopt a long-term approach to the steady recovery and future growth of region's economy, and work together to create a favorable condition for this end, Wen said.

He urged the three countries to encourage joint researches by officials, businessmen and scholars on a free trade area, strive to reach a trilateral investment agreement at an early date, and enhance cooperation on standardization and establishment of a secretariat for trilateral cooperation.

Deepened Friendship Between China, Japan

After arrival in Tokyo, Wen called for both sides to deepen China-Japan friendship, playing down problems and misunderstanding between the two countries and peoples.

"Although there are still some problems and conflicts between the two countries, and some misunderstanding between the two peoples, I am confident the China-Japan friendship is rooted among the two peoples and we must inherit and push forward the friendship," said Wen while addressing representatives of China-Japan friendship organizations and Chinese societies based in Japan.

In the past three years, Sino-Japanese relations have made progress on the track of healthy development, said Wen, urging the two countries to take history as a mirror and look into the future.

Wen said that against the background of tackling the global crisis, China and Japan need to jointly promote cooperation in various fields to overcome difficulties and seek common development.