China wants to ‘work with Japan to relive spirit’ of 1978 peace and friendship treaty

Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida trade congratulatory messages to mark 45th year of landmark pact amid frosty ties

Hailing ‘strategic foresight’ behind the treaty, Li highlights its focus on peaceful coexistence, long-lasting friendship and opposition to hegemony

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Premier Li Qiang has expressed China’s willingness to jointly build a relationship with Japan that “meets the requirements of the new era”. Photo: Kyodo

Published: 4:22pm, 23 Oct 2023Updated: 5:58pm, 23 Oct 2023

China called on Japan for joint efforts to “relive” the spirit of peaceful coexistence and opposition to hegemonism enshrined in their peace and friendship treaty, as the two countries exchanged delayed greetings on its 45th anniversary amid frosty ties.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida exchanged congratulatory messages on Monday, their first interaction since they spoke briefly on the sidelines of an Asean summit in Indonesia last month.

The Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People’s Republic of China was signed in August 1978, six years after the normalisation of diplomatic ties. It took effect on October 23 that year.

However the two countries have been at odds over several geopolitical issues, most recently over Japan’s release of radioactive waste water.

No official celebratory events for the 45th anniversary were held in August, due to rising tensions over the imminent release of waste water from Japan’s tsunami-stricken Fukushima nuclear plant.

The fallout saw Li and Kishida trade barbs when they met in Jakarta on September 6 at the Asean Plus Three summit, involving the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations members, plus China, Japan and South Korea.

In his message to Kishida on Monday, marking 45 years since the peace treaty took effect, Li said China was willing to work with Japan to relive the spirit of the treaty, stay the course in steering bilateral relations, and build a relationship that “meets the requirements of the new era”, according to a Chinese foreign ministry readout.

Hailing the “strategic foresight” of concluding such a treaty back then, Li said it had established a “general direction of peaceful coexistence and long-lasting friendship between two neighbours and the emphasis on opposing hegemony, which has become an important milestone in the development of bilateral relations”.