The Mainichi, 25 May 2012

BEIJING (Kyodo) — China’s former foreign minister indicated Thursday that political disputes such as those on Senkaku Islands and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region are posing obstacles to ties between China and Japan, China News Service said.

Tang Jiaxuan, chairman of the China-Japan Friendship Association and former state councilor, expressed such a view at the goodwill organization’s meeting held in Guiyang, Guizhou Province, the report said.

Without specifying, Tang said problems that have occurred between the two countries since the beginning of the year are negatively affecting the atmosphere of the 40th anniversary of the normalization of bilateral ties and posing serious obstacles to their relations, according to the report.

Both sides should respect each other’s core interests and serious concerns, Tang reportedly said.

Relations between Japan and China soured recently due to developments such as Japan’s hosting of the World Uyghur Congress and a territorial dispute over the Japan-controlled islands in the East China Sea, known in China as Diaoyu.

China has canceled a visit to Japan by its top uniformed military officer Gen. Guo Boxiong that had been scheduled for late May.

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