From Guardian Unlimited, via China National News:
China’s foreign minister again refused to apologize to Tokyo on Saturday for anti-Japan protests last month that damaged Japanese diplomatic compounds and businesses, but the sides agreed to pursue talks on compensating Tokyo for the damages, a Japanese official said.
Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and his Japanese counterpart, Nobutaka Machimura, acknowledged there had been “some improvement” in rocky relations between the Asian giants, agreeing the region’s stability depended upon their mending ties, Japan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Hatsuhisa Takashima told reporters.
Despite China’s refusal to apologize for the recent anti-Japanese protests, China and Japan are China “looking to move forward after bitter disputes.” See AFP, via Yahoo Asia News: “China, Japan looking to move forward after bitter disputes.”
Economic interests are most likely the driving factor in the two nations attempt to mend relations. See People’s Daily: “Sino-Japanese economic co-op benefits both sides”
