Cable No. 3756, Ambassador Nakae to the Foreign Minister, 'The Prime Minister’s Visit to China (Meeting with General Secretary Hu - Japan-China Relations)'

Number [blacked out]

Primary: Asia and China

Sent: China, November 9, 1986 [blacked out]

Received: MOFA November 9, 1986 [blacked out]　

To: The Foreign Minister

From: Ambassador Nakae

The Prime Minister’s Visit to China (Meeting with General Secretary Hu – Japan-China Relations)

No. 3756 Secret Top Urgent [blacked out]

On the 8^th, from 1800 hours, the Prime Minister had a meeting for an hour and a half with General Secretary Hu. Following is a summary of it. (Participants from our side: Ambassador Nakae, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Watanabe, Deputy Director-General Yanai, Director-General Fujita, Executive Secretary to the Prime Minister Fukuda, the China Division Director, and Counselor Mine. From the other side: Secretary Hu Qili, Secretary Wang Zhaoguo, Vice Foreign Minister Liu Shuqing, All-China Youth Federation Chairwoman Liu Yandong, Asian Affairs Department Director Yang Zhenya, Information Department Director, Information Department Director Ma Yuzhen; others.]

1. At the outset, General Secretary Hu said the following:

Your Excellency the Prime Minister, once again I welcome your visit here. We are satisfied with regard to the state of relations between China and Japan. We applaud Your Excellency's contribution to the maintenance and development of friendly relations. The Prime Minister and the Government of Japan well understand the feelings of the Chinese people, and we understand the feelings of your country’s people.  There are no problems between the leaders of our two countries. In each country there is a small number of persons who do not understand the people’s feelings for each other, but this has nothing to do with the overall situation.

2. In response to the above, the Prime Minister responded as follows:  

On your invitation, Secretary General, I came to attend the ceremony for the laying of the cornerstone of the Youth Exchange Center, which the 21^st Century Committee [for Sino-Japanese Friendship] proposed. I cannot thank you enough for impressively conducting the ceremony for the cornerstone’s laying and for truly preparing Beijing autumn skies and a warm day. Today’s fine weather is, without a doubt, the image of the relations between our two countries. Between our two countries, we have established the basic principle of the Joint Communique, the Treaty of Peace and Friendship, and the Four Principles. If we work faithfully to observe them, then future prospects are vast. The systems and histories of our two countries are different, but there exist the goals of world peace and prosperity and of Asia’s peace and stability. Joining together for these goals has great significance for the history of the world.

Our country’s steadfast policy is that of our two countries respecting the feelings of each other’s people in observing each other’s sovereignty and independence and working for friendship in facing the twenty-first century. I believe that this is your country’s policy as well. With such a stance, it matters little whether the wind should blow or the rain should fall. We should move forward for greater goals. I express my consideration for Your Excellency’s working for great goals in considering my country’s situation. I, too, am resolved to take action in the same way. What is most important is the trust and friendship between leaders of our two countries. I would like to treat it with care. The Japanese people, too, support this thinking of mine, which is clear from the results of the last election. I would like to open the way to the 21^st century in shaking your hand, General Secretary. Let me reconfirm this point. (Here, he once again shakes the General Secretary’s hand.)

3. In response to the above, General Secretary Hu replied that he agreed completely with what the Prime Minister said.

Relayed to [Embassies in] United States, Soviet Union, Republic of Korea, Hong Kong. (End)