Qin Gang started the press conference with the following announcement:

On April 23, the Chinese and British governments will hold the second meeting of the China-UK High-Level People-to-People Dialogue in Beijing. The theme of this meeting is "Sharing the Future through Exchanges and Mutual Learning". Vice Premier of the State Council, Chair of the Chinese side Liu Yandong and Secretary of State for Health, Chair of the British side Jeremy Hunt will jointly host and separately address the meeting. The meeting is the first of its kind to be held in China since the establishment of the China-UK High-Level People-to-People Dialogue.

Q: A court in China ordered enforcement measures in a lawsuit against Mitsui OSK Lines. The Japanese government said that this could influence China-Japan relationship. Does China agree with that and whether this is consistent with the Joint Communiqué of the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of Japan which says that China renounces its demand for war reparation?

A: The case you mentioned is just an ordinary one involving commercial contract disputes. Relevant court in China has released authoritative information. A final ruling on this case was given by a Chinese court in August, 2010. Since then, several rounds of consultations aimed at achieving reconciliation have been held between the two parties, but to no avail. Therefore, the Chinese court, in an answer to the plaintiff's requests, ordered enforcement measures. This case has nothing to do with war reparations resulting from China's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. The Chinese government remains committed to and safeguards all the principles of the Joint Communiqué of the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of Japan. In accordance with the law, China will continue to protect the lawful rights and interests of foreign-invested enterprises in China.

Q: Last week, Special Representative for the Chinese government on the Korean Peninsula Affairs Wu Dawei met and talked with Special Representative of the US Secretary of State for North Korea Policy Glyn Davies. Please give us more details.

A: Last week, at the invitation of Glyn Davies, the Special Representative of the US Secretary of State for North Korea Policy, Special Representative for the Chinese government on the Korean Peninsula Affairs Wu Dawei went to America. They had candid and in-depth discussions on resuming the Six-Party Talks, achieving denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and safeguarding peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula. The visit shows that both sides are expanding consensus and narrowing differences. China is willing to remain in close communication and coordination with the US as well as other parties concerned, and will continue to play a constructive role in promoting peace through dialogue.

Q: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent an offering to the Yasukuni Shrine on April 21. What is China's comment?

A: The Yasukuni Shrine honors Class-A war criminals of WWII. The Japanese leader's words and deeds about this shrine can tell us whether Japan genuinely faces up to and reflects upon its history of aggression. The Japanese leader's sending of an offering to the shrine and Japan's Cabinet members' visits to the shrine expose the Japanese Cabinet's wrong attitude towards history. China has lodged representations with the Japanese side and made our solemn position clear.

I would like to stress that an important political basis for China-Japan relationship to rebuild and develop is that Japan should honestly face up to and reflect upon its militarist history of aggression and make a clean break with militarism. We urge the Japanese side to adopt a correct attitude towards historical matters, stop provocative behaviors and win back the trust of its Asian neighbors and the international community with concrete actions.

Here, I want to point out that the Yasukuni Shrine is nothing short of a relationship wrecker between Japan and its neighbors. It is Japan's negative asset. If the Japanese leader is bent on holding the negative asset, the amount of it will only get bigger as time goes by.