China has welcomed Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's apology to Chinese victims of Japan's war of aggression but urged its neighbor to make more efforts to mend bilateral ties.
Meanwhile, the Beijing Youth Daily, in a front-page report on Koizumi's visit in its Tuesday editions, said Koizumi's apology, visit to an antiwar museum and his addressing the issue of future visits to Yasukuni Shrine, were conditions that paved the way for his trip to China.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry set the conditions when Japan told China in late September that Koizumi wanted to visit China, and Japan accepted the conditions, the daily said.
Sun Yuxi, a spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry, said Tuesday the bilateral row over Japan's wartime atrocities cannot be solved all at once.