On March 31, 2023, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi met with former Japanese Prime Minister and former Chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia Yasuo Fukuda.

Wang Yi said that last year marked the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan and this year marks the 45th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship. They are both important junctures in the history of China-Japan relations. Forty-five years ago, when Yasuo Fukuda was serving the position of Prime Minister, the two sides recognized the principles established in the China-Japan Joint Statement in legal forms and reaffirmed the general direction of peaceful and friendly cooperation between China and Japan. But today China has reasons to be worried about the possible regression of Japan’s policy toward China and to question whether Japan will continue to adhere to the direction of peaceful development. He hopes that Japan will return to its original aspiration of the four political documents between China and Japan, including the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship, remove interference from all sides, generate a positive signal in rebuilding a China-Japan relationship running on the track of sound development and refreshing with vitality, and create conditions for a full resumption of post-pandemic exchanges in various fields.

Wang Yi expressed appreciation for Yasuo Fukuda’s contributions to China-Japan friendship over the years, and hopes that more Japanese people from all walks of life could play a positive role in improving China-Japan relations.

Yasuo Fukuda expressed his congratulations on the success of the Boao Forum for Asia. He said that China’s status and role as a major country attract much global attention and that China’s efforts to peacefully resolve regional disputes deserve applause from all sides. China has actively promoted economic globalization and has yielded fruitful achievements in its foreign exchanges and cooperation, injecting confidence and certainty into the world with changes and disorder. Japan-China relations are very important. He hopes that the two sides will maintain high-level interactions, strengthen cultural and people-to-people exchanges, enhance mutual understanding, dispel misunderstandings and misjudgments, and work together for peace and development in Asia.