Hu said that, several days ago, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, in his speech at a meeting attended by more than 13,000 Japanese visitors in Beijing, made clear the orientation for the long-term development of Sino-Japanese relations.

It is the common responsibility of the two countries to push forward bilateral relations, which is also the common aspiration of the people of both countries, he said.

Hu made the remarks during a meeting with former Japanese Prime Ministers Ryutaro Hashimoto and Tomiichi Murayama and former Japanese Vice Prime Minister Masaharu Gotoda before a grand reception commemorating the 30th anniversary of the normalization of Sino-Japanese relations.

The reception was sponsored jointly by the China-Japan Friendship Association and the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries in the Great Hall of the People.

During the meeting Hu expressed hope that the statesmen and people from all sectors of the society in the two countries would cherish the hard-won results of the Sino-Japanese friendship and take advantage of this anniversary to deepen mutual trust, strengthen exchanges and expand cooperation.

He emphasized that the two countries should make great efforts to foster new generations of people who will carry on the Sino-Japanese friendship.

He said the two countries should work unswervingly for a sound and steady development of their good-neighborly relations of cooperation, so as to pass on Sino-Japanese friendship from generation to generation.

After the meeting, Hu and other Chinese leaders and the Japanese guests attended the reception.

(People's Daily September 29, 2002)