Leaders, political parties and statesmen of China and Japan should seriously consider the fundamental aspirations and interests of their peoples, summarize experience, handle differences that may arise in bilateral ties with a friendly spirit, and actively build good, stable and cooperative ties so as to secure Sino-Japanese friendship for generations to come, he said.

Jiang made the remarks while meeting Japan's Komei Party delegation led by its leader, Kanzaki Takenori.

Jiang pointed out that it was regrettable that the Japanese prime minister recently again visited Yasukuni Shrine at the important time of the 30th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties between the two countries, saying the move "seriously hurt the feelings of the Chinese and Asian peoples and inevitably aroused their grave concern and strong indignation."

Kanzaki's visit to China comes after Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited the shrine in Tokyo on April 21.

The shrine, which honors 14 people designated as Class-A criminals by the Allies in trials that followed World War II, is seen as a symbol of Japan's wartime imperialism.

Kanzaki said that the Komei Party opposed Koizumi's shrine visit because such an action not only goes against the Japanese Constitution, but also stirs up protests from other Asian nations.

(China Daily April 30, 2002)