China on Thursday dismissed a Japanese official's comment that
the country's economic boom will fuel nationalism as illogical.
"We are surprised and dissatisfied with the Japanese comment.
The comment that China's economic development leads to nationalism
is illogical and should not become a reason to criticize China,"
said a statement from the Foreign Ministry.
The statement came in response to the comment of Tomohiko
Taniguchi, deputy press secretary of the Japanese Foreign
Ministry.
"The more rapid the growth is, the more dangerous I think it is
going to be for nationalism to play a role or change the course of
the ...nation," Taniguchi was quoted by Associated Press as saying
at a news conference in Hong Kong.
"I would call on the Beijing government to properly manage the
equilibrium of the Chinese psyche because the Chinese people are
experiencing the most rapid ... changes in their 2,000-year
history," Taniguchi said.
The Chinese statement said China and Japan would do better to
discuss enhancing mutual understanding and friendship between the
two peoples.
The two governments have worked to improve ties since last year
when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe paid an ice-breaking China
visit in October, which was followed by Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Japan in April
this year.
"China would like to work more closely with Japan on various
fields, particularly on youth exchange, so as to consolidate the
social foundation for improvement and development of China-Japan
ties," the statement said.
"We hope the Japanese side can move closer to the Chinese side
and do more things which will improve public sentiment in the two
countries, rather than the opposite," it said.
(Xinhua News Agency July 26, 2007)
