BEIJING, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- Visiting Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda was "very happy" with Friday's talks with Chinese leaders, said a Japanese official on Saturday.

    "The Japanese side is quite satisfied with yesterday's meetings, which were very fruitful," Mitsuo Sakaba, the press secretary for the Japanese Foreign Minister, told a press briefing.

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda delivers a speech at the prestigious Peking University in Beijing, capital of China, on Dec. 28, 2007. Yasuo Fukuda arrived here for an official visit to China from Dec. 27 to 30. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

    Fukuda wanted to talk with Chinese leaders about Japan-China relations from a long-term perspective, and Japan and China could share "the same mid- and long-term vision" for their relationship, said Sakaba.

    Japan and China are both major economies and exert great influence in the world; thus, they should make a joint effort and cooperate closely to achieve world peace and stability, he said.

    On the itinerary of the Japanese prime minister, the spokesman said that Fukuda would head to Tianjin on Saturday afternoon to visit its new coastal development zone and a Tianjin Faw Toyota Motor plant.

    He added that the Chinese government gave priority to the development of Tianjin, where there are about 650 Japan-funded enterprises and some 4,000 resident Japanese nationals. Fukuda wanted to see how Tianjin was developing, he added.

    On Sunday, Fukuda is scheduled to visit the tomb of Confucius in Qufu, in east China's Shandong Province, said Sakaba. He added that it was the prime minister's personal wish, as Confucianism, along with Buddhism and Shinto, constituted the foundation of Japanese culture and was the common origin of both cultures.

    On Sunday afternoon, Fukuda will conclude his four-day official visit, flying back to Japan from Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province.

Chinese leaders hold "heart-to-heart" talks with Japanese prime minister

Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) meets with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda (L) at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, capital of China, on Dec. 28, 2007. Yasuo Fukuda arrived here on Dec. 27 for a four-day official visit to China. (Xinhua Photo)

    BEIJING, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao held "heart-to-heart" talks with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Friday, and both stressed joint efforts to promote bilateral relations, saying "a spring has come" for China-Japan ties.

    Later in the afternoon, Chinese President Hu Jintao and top legislator Wu Bangguo met with Fukuda, respectively, after he spoke at the elite Peking University.   Full story

Chinese President meets Japanese PM, calling for further progress in bilateral ties

    BEIJING, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao met here on Friday with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, calling for more efforts to build bilateral strategic and mutually beneficial ties.

    "The development of long-term, stable and good neighborly relations between China and Japan are the common anticipations of the two peoples, as well as the duty of the two nations' political leaders," Hu said. Full story

Premier Wen holds talks with Fukuda

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (R) shakes hands with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda during a welcoming ceremony held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China on Dec. 28, 2007. Yasuo Fukuda arrived here Thursday for a four-day official visit to China. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

  BEIJING, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Friday morning, and both stressed joint efforts to promote bilateral relations.

    Wen said China-Japan relations have entered "an important period of improvement and development", adding that he would like to work with Fukuda to jointly seize opportunities so as to "promote a new and greater development of strategic and mutually beneficial China-Japan relations". Full story

Japanese PM urges proper treatment of history

    BEIJING, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Friday said Japan would "very earnestly" reflect on the "agonizing part of history" and continue to follow the path of peaceful development so as to establish "forward-looking China-Japan relations".

    Fukuda made the statement when meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. China and Japan have a long-standing disagreement over wartime history. Full story