China welcomes Japan to play constructive role in G20 summit: FM

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (R, Front) meets with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (C, front) and South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se (L, Front) in Tokyo, Japan, Aug 24, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

TOKYO - China welcomes Japan as a Group of 20 (G20) member to play a positive and constructive role in making the upcoming G20 Hangzhou Summit a success, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here on Wednesday.

Wang made the remarks as he met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe together with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts following a trilateral foreign ministers' meeting.

Wang said that the foreign ministers' meeting, held at a time when bilateral relations between China, Japan and South Korea were all faced with obstacles, maintained the keynote and momentum of trilateral cooperation.

To promote trilateral cooperation, China has put forward a "four-wheel drive" proposal, namely, to promote cooperation in four key areas, including politics, economy and trade, culture as well as sustainable development, said Wang.

He added that China welcomes Abe to attend the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, and China is willing to see Japan, as a member of G20, to play a positive and constructive role in making the summit a success.

It is hoped that the three sides could, in the spirit of facing history squarely and advancing toward the future, strengthen cooperation and make joint efforts to promote regional peaceful development and improve bilateral relations, said the Chinese foreign minister.

Abe, for his part, stressed the importance of trilateral cooperation and expressed the hope that the three countries could, based on the fruits of the foreign ministers' meeting, make active preparation for bringing forth a trilateral summit within the year, improve bilateral relations and promote regional development.

He said that Japan is willing to promote mutual trust and enhance dialogue with China, to make efforts to control differences and build a future-oriented China-Japan relationship.

Abe added the upcoming G20 Summit is of great significance to sustainable development of world economy and Japan wishes the summit a success and is willing to provide all possible help for the meeting, he said.

On Wednesday, Wang also met with Toshihiro Nikai, secretary-general of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and Yohei Kono, head of the Japanese Association for the Promotion of International Trade and former president of LDP and former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, respectively.

Wang told Nikai that China-Japan relations are at an important juncture and would either move forward or backward.