Chinese officials blame Tokyo

A senior Chinese official says that China is not responsible for the current difficulty facing bilateral relations between China and Japan.

Chinese Vice President Zeng Qinghong made the remarks Wednesday during his meeting with the visiting Japanese Social Democratic Party delegation in Beijing.

He pointed out that the Japanese leader's visit to Yasukuni Shrine hurts the Chinese people's feelings, and the political foundation of bilateral relations. He urged political figures in both countries to make joint efforts to crack the nuts on the way to the normal development of the bilateral relations.

Opposition Social Democratic Party leader Mizuho Fukushima said in Beijing that the Yasukuni Shrine visit remains the major hurdle on bilateral relations. The SDP has firmly urged the Japanese leader to stop such visits. The Social Democratic Party believes that Japan should face up to its historical past and adhere to peaceful development.

Former Japanese Prime Minister and advisor to the SDP, Murayama Tomiichi, said that the Japan-China friendship was nurtured and promoted by old generation of leadership and should be restored on the right track as soon as possible, Xinhua reports.

V.Y.