On November 21, 2004, Chinese President Hu Jintao, who just attended APEC's 12th informal leadership meeting, met with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in the hotel where President Hu stayed in Santiago.

Hu said that over the 32 years since the normalization of diplomatic ties between China and Japan, the bilateral relations have gained long-term development. Bilateral cooperation in all fields has made great achievements. The current level of China-Japan relations should be attributed to the relentless efforts of the several generations of leaders and governments of the two countries and people of insight. The achievement is hard-won and deserves our care and protection.

Hu noted that entering the new century the international situations continue to undergo complex and profound changes and the cause of peace and development of mankind faces both unprecedented opportunities and severe challenges. As two countries with great influence in the world, China and Japan undertake heavy responsibilities for the peace and development of Asia and the world as a whole. Under new situations, the complementarities between China and Japan have added up in stead of being undermined and common interest of both countries in regional and international affairs has increased in stead of decreasing. It is of greater realistic significance than ever before to build the long-term stable China-Japan good-neighborly and friendly cooperative relations. Both China and Japan, especially the leaders of the two countries should proceed from a strategic and long-term perspective to push forward the stable and healthy development of bilateral ties.

Hu raised the following proposals guiding the healthy and stable development of bilateral ties: both sides should strictly observe the principles of the three political documents between the two countries , learn lessons earnestly from the history, look forward to the future , take into account the long-term interest and overall situation and strengthen exchanges and deepen cooperation; both sides should strengthen coordination and cooperation in regional and international affairs; the cultural, education and youth exchanges between the two countries should be enhanced; based on the common demands of the two countries, both sides should step up cooperation in the areas such as energy resources and environmental protection while we continue deepening economic and trade cooperation.

Hu stressed that to push forward China-Japan relations we cannot and it is impossible for us to evade historical problems. To treat history appropriately is the only way to translate historical burden into power of moving ahead. Currently the root cause for the difficulties of bilateral political relations is the visit of Japanese leaders to the Yasukuni Shrine. We hope that Japan can handle this problem properly. The longer the problem exists, the greater hurt it will bring to the feeling of the Chinese people and the people of all nations who suffered from Japanese aggression and the worse it is for the improvement and development of bilateral relations. Past experience, if not forgotten, is a guide for the future. Japanese leaders should take a responsible attitude to the history and its people and proceed from the long-lasting friendly relations between China and Japan and the overall trend of peace and development in Asia to properly handle related problems and protect bilateral ties from damages which should have been avoided. The Chinese people always believe that in that tragic war the Japanese people including those soldiers who were forced to fight the war and lost their lives are also victims, but they detest the criminals who launched the war. When considering the issue of visiting the Yasukuni Shrine, the Japanese leaders must take into account the feeling of the people of the victim countries and the overall situation of China-Japan friendly relations.

Hu also elaborated the principled position of the Chinese government on the Taiwan problem. He appreciated the Japanese government's reiteration of adherence to the one-China policy and opposition to "Taiwan independence", noting that to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits and in Asia and the Pacific is of critical importance to the healthy and stable development of China-Japan relations.

Koizumi said that he had made it clear on many occasions that China's development means opportunities in stead of threats and the fact is being accepted by an increasing number of people. He hopes that China can maintain the current development momentum, which is in the interest of both Japan and the entire world. Japan attaches importance to the relations with China and hopes to keep strengthening the mutually beneficial cooperation with China in all fields.

Koizumi noted that he values the idea of taking history as a mirror. It is extremely important to reflect on historical mistakes and on that basis to think about bilateral ties. Japan can never launch similar wars. He expressed full understanding of China's position on Japanese leaders' visit to the Yasukuni Shrine and reiterated that the Japanese government follows the one-China policy and refrains from supporting "Taiwan independence".

The leaders of both countries also exchanged opinions on other issues of common concern.