BEIJING, Oct 28 – Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday sent a message of condolence to the family of former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, describing him as “an old friend of the Chinese people” who was committed to promoting friendship between the two countries, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
Noting that Fukuda had overseen the signing of the fourth Sino-Japanese political document during his 2007-2008 tenure as prime minister, Xi expressed hope that the current Japanese government would safeguard the political foundation of bilateral relations by upholding the four documents, the ministry said.
Xi urged Tokyo to value the “hard work and efforts of the older generation of politicians,” it added. Fukuda died last Thursday of heart failure at age 90.
The four documents signed in 1972, 1978, 1998 and 2008 set out the principles governing bilateral relations.
A joint communique signed in 1972 states that China “reiterates that Taiwan is an inalienable part” of its territory and that Japan “fully understands and respects this stand.”
Xi’s message came as bilateral relations remain strained over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s parliamentary remarks in November last year, suggesting that an attack on Taiwan could prompt Japan’s Self-Defense Forces to act in support of the United States.
