China, Japan break ice as N.Korea casts shadow

BEIJING, Oct 8: China hailed a visit by new Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe today as a ''turning point'' in relations as they agreed to upgrade ties and denounced North Korea's plans for a nuclear test as unacceptable.

Beijing had refused summits with Abe's predecessor Junichiro Koizumi, who stepped down last month, because of his repeated pilgrimages to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine to war dead, seen by critics as glorifying Japan's past militarism.

But Chinese leaders struck a conciliatory tone and Abe expressed ''deep remorse'' for past Japanese actions as he broke with tradition in making his first trip abroad since taking office on September 26 to China, rather than the United States.

''Your visit is serving as a turning point in China-Japan relations and I hope it will also serve as a new starting point for the improvement and development of bilateral ties,'' China's Xinhua news agency quoted Chinese President Hu Jinta as telling Abe.

At a meeting with Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, both sides expressed hope of overcoming animosity linked to Koizumi's regular war shrine visits, which angered China and hampered progress on territorial, trade and energy disputes.

Chinese leaders agreed in principle to an invitation from Abe to visit Japan, China's foreign ministry said. State television also quoted Wen as saying China and Japan should keep up mutual visits by state leaders, suspended since 2001.

Mending ties is key to addressing a threat by reclusive North Korea to conduct a nuclear test, an issue high on the agenda during Abe's two-day visit to Beijing, host to stalled six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear issue.

''Japan and China shared the view that North Korea's nuclear teast is unacceptable. And this is a strong message to North Korea,'' Abe told reporters.

A joint statement said the two sides ''expressed deep concern'' over the threatened nuclear test.

In Seoul, a senior Japanese official said the North Korea situation was ''a very urgent matter''.

''We can see the fragility of the security situation in East Asia because of North Korea,'' he said, adding that North Korea's return to six-party talks was ''an absolute necessity''. Abe flies to South Korea tomorrow for talks with President Roh Moo-hyun that are expected to focus on North Korea's threat. ''DEEP REMORSE'' China and Japan also agreed to ''elevate'' relations to a higher level, their joint statement said.

Abe said he wished to ''build a relationship of trust with Chinese leaders''.

''Sixty years of Japan's post-war history is built on our deep remorse for our country inflicting grave damage and suffering and left scars on the people of Asia,'' Abe told reporters. ''I feel certain that my visit to China this time will lead Sino-Japanese ties to a higher level,'' he said.

Abe's Beijing visit is seen as a chance for a fresh start for the two countries, whose economic interdependence has grown despite the political chill.

China replaced the United States as Japan's top trade partner in 2004. Japan's trade with China, including Hong Kong, reached 212 billion dollars last year.

''The change of government gives an opportunity for both sides to build a new relationship regardless of what has happened up to now,'' an aide to Abe told reporters in Beijing.

Both China and South Korea had refused summits with Koizumi because of his pilgrimages to Yasukuni, which is seen by critics as glorifying militarism by Japan, which occupied parts of China from 1931-45.

Abe, at 52 the first Japanese premier born after World War Two, has defended Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni. Abe has also paid his respects there in the past, but again declined on Sunday to say whether he would do so as prime minister.

Experts have warned that his diplomacy could backfire in Beijing and Seoul if he later visits Yasukuni.

Reuters