China praises Fukuda for 'great contributions'

By Li Xiaokun (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-09-03 07:12

China Tuesday praised Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's "great contributions" to reviving bilateral ties and expects this momentum to continue despite his resignation on Monday.

"Recently, through the joint efforts of the two governments and people from various fields, China-Japan relations have witnessed sound development with deepening strategic and mutually beneficial relations," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said at a regular press conference.

"Prime Minister Fukuda has made great contributions to that and we think highly of him."

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda arrives at his party leaders' meeting at the headquarters of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in Tokyo Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2008, a day after Fukuda, 72, suddenly announced his resignation. [Agencies]

The continuation of this trend "serves the fundamental interests of the two countries and their peoples", Jiang said.

"We're willing to work with Japan toward this goal," she added.

Apart from the topic of bilateral relations, the spokeswoman declined to further touch upon the impact of Fukuda's sudden resignation, as "it is an internal affair of Japan".

Sino-Japanese relations hit a low point during the administration of former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi who, despite protests from China and other Asian neighbors, repeatedly visited the Yasukuni Shrine where Japan's war dead, including class-A war criminals, are honored.

His successor Shinzo Abe helped to end the standoff. Fukuda then grasped almost every opportunity, such as his "spring herald" China tour last December, President Hu Jintao's return visit in May and Japan's quick and massive assistance to China following the May 12 quake, to inject new vitality into bilateral relations.

"Despite the chaotic political situation that finally resulted in his resignation, Fukuda found time to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. From that I felt his sincerity," said Liu Jiangyong, an expert in Japan studies at Tsinghua University.

In fact, Fukuda was the first Japanese prime minister to attend an Olympic opening ceremony in a foreign country in 20 years.

Although his resignation is a great loss in terms of improving relations between Beijing and Tokyo, the current trend will definitely not be reversed, even if his successor attempts to do this, Liu said.

"That's because improving Sino-Japanese ties serves the basic interests of both countries and the Asian neighborhood."

Though many analysts have claimed Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Secretary-General Taro Aso is likely to succeed Fukuda, Liu said it was too early to make a conclusion.

"The candidates (for new LDP president) will register on Sept 8. We can just say that Aso is one candidate that made an early debut," he said.

"Whoever his successor will be, there is only a slight chance of a major shift in Japan's foreign policies in the next few months, as the new leader must handle the domestic political situation first."