China and Japan should revisit the original intention of establishing diplomatic relations, learn from historical experience, and promote the healthy and stable development of China-Japan relations along the right track, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday. 

He made the remarks during the opening ceremony of the seminar to commemorate the 50th anniversary of normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan. 

Wang said both sides should shoulder the responsibility empowered by history to make the right choice that fails no one and promote bilateral ties into higher and wider platform to break new ground for new China-Japan relations, aiming to bring blessing for the two peoples and contribute more to world peace.

Five-point proposal

Wang said that good-neighborliness and friendship as well as the development and revitalization of Asia are the destinies, aspirations and responsibilities of China and Japan. He put forward a five-point proposal on building China-Japan relations in the new era:

First, the two sides should keep promises and maintain the political foundation of China-Japan relations. "To ensure the steady and long-term development of bilateral relations, the four political documents reached between the two countries must be abided by and the commitments that have been made so far should be honored," he said, warning that there should be no ambiguity or backsliding on major issues of principle, such as that of history and Taiwan.

Second, it is essential to bear in mind the overall situation and grasp the right direction of development. The political consensus that the two sides are cooperative partners and do not pose a threat to each other should be accommodated into policies and implemented through action, he said.

Third, efforts should be made to deepen cooperation and achieve win-win results at a higher level. The two sides should foster a strong sense of partnership, uphold a global perspective and jointly resist the wrong practice of decoupling to maintain stable and smooth global industrial and supply chains as well as fair and open trade and investment environment, he said.

Fourth, the two sides should strengthen guidance and foster positive and friendly mutual understanding. Wang said people-to-people exchanges between China and Japan have a long history and should be carried forward with the times.

Fifth, the two countries should conform to the general trend and practice genuine multilateralism. "It is necessary to uphold the international system with the United Nations at its core, jointly oppose zero-sum games and camp confrontation, and promote regional stability and integrated development," Wang said.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said in his video speech that both sides should focus on the next 50 years and work together to build constructive and stable Japan-China relations.