On September 22, 2002, Premier Zhu Rongji met with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in Copenhagen.

Zhu said that bilateral ties have undergone great development in every field since the normalization of Sino-Japanese relations three decades ago. A grand gathering was held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on the evening of the same day to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the normalization of Sino-Japanese relations. The gathering was attended by more than 13,000 people from Japan. President Jiang attended it and delivered an important speech, in which he summarized both positive and negative experiences and lessons in the history of Sino-Japanese relations, fully affirmed Sino-Japanese friendship and pointed out the direction of development of bilateral ties.

Zhu said that Jiang again stressed that Sino-Japanese ties should be developed in the spirit of taking history as a mirror and facing toward the future. He hopes that Japan would fully realize that it must be cautious about its attitude towards China over historical questions because it may hurt the feelings of the Chinese people.

Koizumi said that it is very important to face history and to properly solve practical problems in developing Sino-Japanese relations. He hopes that the two neighbors will be able to enhance their cooperation further in various fields through the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the diplomatic normalization between the two countries.