Sunday, August 17, 2008

Chinese FM meets Japanese counterpart

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi met with visiting Japanese counterpart Masahiko Komura on Sunday evening, and expressed his wish that Japanese athletes would achieve proud results at the Beijing Olympic Games.

Yang expressed his "warm welcome" to Komura, congratulating him on the 8th gold medal on the country's medal-list won by its five-time world champion Kaori Icho in the women's 63kg freestyle wrestling on Sunday, and wished that Japanese athletes would achieve proud results in further competitions.

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games and Komura's visit here fully embodied Japan's active and firm support to the Games, and "we really thanked them for that," Yang said.

"We hope to exchange views with Japan on issues of common concern, and to strengthen cooperation on international and regional affairs," Yang added.

Komura, who had watched the women's marathon on Sunday morning, in which China's Zhou Chunxiu got the bronze medal, said he was very glad to see that the Chinese audience also cheered for Japanese athletes during the Games.

Komura arrived late on Saturday for a one-and-a-half day trip that also includes visits to Olympic events. Before meeting with Yang, Komura met Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo.

Source: Xinhua

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