(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-27 20:52

During Fukuda's visit, he will also deliver a speech at the prestigious Peking University, visit a primary school in Beijing, and tour Tianjin, a city neighboring Beijing, as well as Qufu in Shandong Province, the hometown of Confucius.

In Tianjin, Fukuda will inspect the Binhai new area, an economic development zone consisting of more than 6,300 companies, including over 70 joint ventures among the world's top 500 companies.

"Tianjin, home to many Japanese-funded companies, is an important city in north China and its development has been listed as a key goal in China's 11th Five-Year Plan," said Qin Gang. "We expect Prime Minister Fukuda to have a deeper understanding of the economic cooperation between China and Japan through this visit," Qin said.

When discussing Fukuda's visit to Qufu, Qin said that he considered it would give the Japanese leader a better understanding of Chinese culture, as Confucius has been admired by the people of both countries.

The trip, which is taking place three months after Fukuda took office, is another important step to boost bilateral ties, following the "ice-breaking" visit by then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last October and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's "ice-thawing" trip to Japan this April.

China-Japan relations have entered a period of steady growth after a series of jolts and readjustments, and resumed diplomacy between the top leaders is an important sign, said Jin Xide, a researcher at the Institute of Japanese Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

"Diplomacy between China and Japan is developing to a new phase of learning about each other's real situation and directly speaking to the people of each other's country," Jin said.

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