Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and his Chinese counterpart, Li Peng, exchanged congratulatory telegrams Sept. 29 on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the normalization of bilateral ties, according to government officials.
"Japan and China have developed friendly relations for the past 25 years beyond our differences in systems. ... I swear that I will cooperate with you to further deepen bilateral relations," Hashimoto said in his telegram to Li. Li said in his telegram to Hashimoto that the two countries are important neighbors and major partners for economic cooperations, the officials said. "Reinforcing friendly ties between China and Japan is of great significance and the bilateral relations will have wider perspectives," Li said in the telegram.
As part of efforts to promote bilateral dialogue, Li is scheduled to visit Tokyo in November and Chinese President Jiang Zemin is expected to visit Japan next year. Hashimoto visited China early this month.