China calls on Japan to help develop better Beijing-Tokyo ties

"We hope the new Japanese administration will meet the Chinese side halfway and make concrete efforts to overcome difficulties in bilateral relations," China’ Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters on Wednesday.

She added that China is ready to work with Japan to push forward the steady and sound development of bilateral relations.

Hua reiterated that efforts were needed to push Beijing-Tokyo bilateral relations back on to the normal track of development.

    The Chinese official also said that Beijing wants to resolve the dispute over the islands in the East China Sea through dialogue and negotiation.


On Wednesday, the Japanese Lower House of parliament elected the leader of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Shinzo Abe, as prime minister, following the LDP’s win over the Democratic Party of Japan in the national elections on December 16.

During the national elections, Abe stated Japan would stand firm on its claim to the chain of islands in the East China Sea, which are also claimed by China.

The disputed islands are known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.

On December 15, China presented the United Nations with detailed assertion as to its sovereignty over the islands.

The dispute between Tokyo and Beijing over the islands reached its peak in mid-September after Japan announced that it planned to buy the islands from their Japanese private owners.

Hundreds of Chinese held anti-Japan demonstrations following the announcement.

Chinese ships have since been sailing around the islands, eliciting angry reaction from Japan.

Ownership of the islands would result in exclusive oil, mineral, and fishing rights in the surrounding waters.