中国主席习称日本的友谊"值得珍惜"

Former economyminister Toshihiro Nikai (L) applaudsChinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting inBeijing on Saturday.

前经济部长二阶俊博(左)于周六在北京的一次会议上为中国国家主席习鼓掌。

BEIJING: China's President Xi Jinping struck a friendly tone on relations with Japan Saturday,but touched on disputes over history which still add to tensions between the East Asiangiants.

北京：中国国家习主席于周六在评价与日本的关系时语气很友好，但是也谈及了至今仍在加剧东亚大国之间紧张关系的历史纠纷。

Ties between Beijing and Tokyo have warmed over the past year, but strains overterritorialdisputes and attitudes towards wartime history persist.

过去一年里，中日关系逐渐升温但在领土争端上的紧张态势，以及对待战时历史的态度仍然未变。

Xi told a forum in Beijing that "peace and friendly cooperation between China and Japan is thecommon will of the people, and the general trend of events".

习主席在一个北京论坛上说：“中日间的和平友好合作是人民的共同意愿，也是事件发展的总趋势。

He added that "friendship" between the countries "deserves cherishing and protecting," at theevent, attended by Japanese delegates including former economy minister Toshihiro Nikai.

他还当场补充说两国间的"友谊""值得珍惜和保护，"出席那次论坛的日本代表就有前经济部长二阶俊博。

High-level meetings between China and Japan were suspended for two years amid a row overdisputed islar until Xi and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met last year. They held talks againlast month.

因为在岛上的争议，中日高层会议连续搁置了两年,直到去年习主席和日本首相安倍晋三(ShinzoAbe)的见面。上个月他们再次举行了会谈。

During his Beijing visit, Nikai delivered a personal letter to Xi from Abe, japan's Kyodo newsagency said, without giving further details.

日本共同通讯社说在访问北京期间，向习主席递交了一封安倍的私人信件，但并未透露更多细节。

Echoing regular pronouncements from Beijing, Xi also mentioned the 70th anniversary of theJapanese surrender in the second world war, and added that"the facts of history cannot bedistorted".

为与中国惯常的声明相呼应，Xi也提到了第二次世界大战日本投降的70周年纪念，并补充说"历史事实不能被扭曲"。

"The efforts of anyone seeking to distort or beautify the facts of Japan's acts of militaristicinvasion will not be accepted by the people of China," he added.

"中国人民不会接受任何人试图为扭曲或美化日本军国主义侵略行为所作出的努力,"他补充道。

His remarks came just a day after China renewed its call for Japan to "face up to" its 20thcentury history after Abe's wife visited a shrine which Beijingsees as a symbol of Tokyo'swarring past.

他说这番话的前一天,中国再次呼吁日本要"面对"其20世纪的历史,因为在这之前，安倍的妻子参观了神社——中国将此当作是东京交战历史的象征。

China is preparing a massive military parade in September to mark the 70th anniversary, andalso creating a public holiday.

中国正在准备将于九月份举行的纪念二战70周年的大型阅兵仪式，并创建一个公共假日。

China's defense ministry said that its army planes on Thursday for the first time flew over theMiyako Strait, between Japan's Miyako and Okinawa Islands.

中国国防部表示,其军队飞机已于周四第一次飞越宫古岛海峡——位于日本宫古岛和冲绳群岛之间。