Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan will begin a four-day visit to Japan on May 10 for talks on bilateral and international issues, Foreign Minister Yohei Kono said Monday.
"We hope to have frank discussions on bilateral and international issues . . . to deepen relations of trust," Kono told reporters accompanying him on a five-day tour that also took him to Indonesia and East Timor.
Kono said he will seek Tang's views on the agenda for the July 21-23 Group of Eight summit in Okinawa.
Japan has repeatedly asked Tang to visit before the G8 summit. Tokyo wants to exchange views with Beijing on issues related to Taiwan, although Japan will reiterate its respect for Beijing's "one-China" policy, officials said.
Kono will meet with Tang May 10 in Tokyo and on May 12 in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture. Tang will also meet Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori.
His will be the first official trip to Japan by a Chinese foreign minister since March 1996.
In December 1998, however, Tang accompanied Chinese President Jiang Zemin on a state visit.
Reconcile East Timor
SINGAPORE (Kyodo) Foreign Minister Yohei Kono and Singapore leaders called Monday for international support for Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid's policy of reconciliation with East Timor.
Kono reached the agreement during separate talks with Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and Foreign Minister Shanmugam Jayakumar, a Japanese official told reporters.
The official said Kono stressed the need for the international society to support President Wahid and praised Wahid's "strong ties of trust" with East Timorese independence leader Xanana Gusmao, president of the National Council of the Timorese Resistance.
Both Goh and Jayakumar agreed with Kono, the official said.