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Wang: Tokyo should take China as a friend, not a foe

By ZHANG YUNBI (chinadaily.com.cn)

Updated: 2016-03-08 12:18:46

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Foreign Minister Wang Yi summarized Japan's official attitude toward China as "double dealing", and he urged Tokyo to give serious thought and make the right choice upon the question of taking China as a friend or foe.

Japan's wrong approach to history and other issues "has in recent years dealt a body blow to China-Japan relations", the senior diplomat said at a Tuesday press conference of the annual session of the National People's Congress in Beijing.

"Thanks to the efforts by wise people on both sides, there are signs of improvement in the China-Japan relationship. But there is little ground for optimism," Wang said.

"On one hand, the Japanese government and leaders say all the nice things about wanting to improve relations, but on the other hand, they are making trouble for China at every turn. This is what I would call a typical case of 'double dealing'," Wang added.

Wang, who once served as Chinese ambassador to Japan, mentioned the traditional friendship between the people of two countries and said China hopes that the ties could be truly improved.

He referred to a popular Chinese saying: "To cure disease, you have to address the underlying problems."

"As far as China-Japan relations are concerned, the underlying problem is that some politicians in Japan have the wrong perception about China.

"Do they view China as a friend or foe? As a partner or an adversary? The Japanese side should give serious thought to this question and make the right choice," Wang said.