Aso visit expected to enhance relations

By Wang Linyan (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-04-29 07:55

The Japanese prime minister's visit is a chance to promote mutual trust and expand cooperation, the foreign ministry said on Monday.

Prime Minister Taro Aso's two-day visit to China, which starts today, is his first since he took office in September last year.

The two countries should "build and augment a mutually beneficial relationship", said ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu.

Analysts said the financial crisis has expanded the content of Sino-Japanese cooperation and increased their common interests.

Sino-Japanese relations have been going well, particularly after Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Japan in 2007 and President Hu Jintao's visit in 2008.

Aso's visit follows Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone's accusation on Monday that China was unwilling to reveal information about the development of its nuclear weapons.

China refuted that on Monday.

"China's nuclear policy is clear and transparent," Jiang said, adding that the country has always advocated a comprehensive ban on nuclear weapons and complete nuclear disarmament.

Analysts said Nakasone's remarks appeared to echo US President Barack Obama's call for a "nuclear-free world" made in early April.

"Nakasone's remarks helped strengthen the Japan-US alliance and win domestic support. However, it's not conducive to relations between Japan and China," said Liu Jiangyong, a scholar on Japan studies at Tsinghua University.

China has made it clear that it won't use nuclear weapons against countries that don't have nuclear weapons and it won't be the first to use them.