On July 3, 2006, State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan met with President of the Democratic Party of Japan Ichiro Ozawa and his delegation at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse.

Tang said that Mr. Ozawa has been committed to developing bilateral friendly relations and cooperation for a long period of time and has played an important role for the healthy and stable development of bilateral ties. Tang expressed his appreciation for Ozawa's decade-long efforts to promote the Great Wall Program and establish the Shisei Fund.

Tang emphasized that the Chinese government attaches great importance to China-Japan relations. The healthy and stable development of bilateral ties will not only tally with the fundamental interest of the two nations and their people, but also facilitate the maintenance of peace in Asia and the world, and promote common development. It is hoped that Japan will join hands with China and take concrete action to steer China-Japan relations back to the track of healthy and stable development at an early date.

Ozawa noted that Japan-China relations are vitally important and the two sides should make concerted efforts to develop their relations with a firm attitude.