Whoever started trouble should end it, China tells Japan  

外交部：日領導人應為中日關系重回正常軌道努力

中國外交部發言人華春瑩在5日的例行記者會上就當前中日關系表示，中日關系面臨當前困難局面的癥結在于日領導人為兩國高層交往制造了嚴重政治障礙，日領導人應為兩國關系重回正常發展軌道做出實實在在的努力。[查看全文]

China on Monday continued to call on Japanese leaders to reflect on history to mend bilateral ties while welcoming a visiting delegation to China.

"China has always welcomed people from all walks of life in Japan, including both the ruling and opposition parties, to make positive moves to improve China-Japan relations," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a daily news briefing.

Her comment came as a group of senior lawmakers from Tokyo visited Beijing. Masahiko Komura, head of the delegation and vice president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, was scheduled to meet with China's top legislator Zhang Dejiangon Monday afternoon.

The current difficulties in bilateral ties are caused by Japanese leaders, whose wrong actions shook the political foundation of bilateral ties, Hua said.

"Such actions pose severe political obstacles for high-level exchanges between the two countries," Hua said.

"Whoever started the trouble should end it," she said, urging Japan to honor its commitments in the four China-Japan political documents and take real actions to get the bilateral relationship back on track.

A couple of delegations have visited China since last month. Governor of Tokyo Prefecture Yoichi Masuzoe visited Beijing from April 24 to 26 and met with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang.

Earlier, a delegation from the Japanese Association for the Promotion of International Trade visited China and also met with Wang. Wang called on Japan's business community to make efforts to overcome the obstacles in bilateral ties.

China and Japan have seen few high-level political contacts since the Japanese government's "purchase" of the Diaoyu Islandsin September 2012, a move that contributed to the disintegration of bilateral relations.

Abe's visit to the Yasukuni shrine, which honors WWII war criminals, erected another political obstacle to the strained relations.