Yang asks Kan, Matsumoto to visit China later this year+

KYOTO, March 19 Kyodo -
Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on Saturday invited his Japanese counterpart Takeaki Matsumoto and Prime Minister Naoto Kan to visit China at an appropriate time later this year, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said.
During their talks in Kyoto, the two foreign ministers agreed to boost bilateral ties, with Matsumoto telling Yang at the outset of their meeting, ''I hope we can take this opportunity to build a relationship of trust and work together to further deepen mutually beneficial and strategic Japan-China ties.''
Ties between Tokyo and Beijing have been strained since maritime collisions between a Chinese trawler and Japan Coast Guard vessels last September near disputed islands in the East China Sea.
Matsumoto and Yang also agreed to cooperate on disaster prevention in the wake of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan last week, the official said.
The Japanese foreign minister thanked China for dispatching a rescue team and providing relief supplies, while Yang said the Chinese people are thinking of the disaster in Japan as their own and vowed to bolster support to meet the needs of victims.
On other issues, Matsumoto emphasized the importance of promptly restarting talks on concluding a treaty on joint gas field development in the East China Sea, but Yang maintained Beijing's position that the two sides should first create an atmosphere that is conducive to resuming such talks, the official said.
Touching on North Korea, a close ally of China, the Japanese foreign minister said Pyongyang needs to take concrete steps toward denuclearization to restart the six-party talks on the North's nuclear programs and voiced hope that Beijing will prod Pyongyang to move forward in this direction, the official said.
Yang responded that China, recognizing the importance of resuming the six-party talks involving the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States, has been fully doing its part.
Matsumoto also agreed with Yang that their countries will share information and step up cooperation on disaster prevention, drawing on China's experience of dealing with a massive earthquake that hit Sichuan Province in 2008.
Concerning the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant triggered by the March 11 quake and tsunami, Yang was quoted by the official as asking Japan to continue providing China with necessary information.
Matsumoto said Japan is responding to the crisis with a sense of urgency and making utmost efforts to ensure the safety of residents living near the plant, adding that the government will provide accurate and timely information, according to the official.
Yang was quoted as telling Matsumoto that he wants Japan to provide the necessary information due to China's concern about the nuclear plant crisis.
The meeting between Matsumoto and Yang took place prior to their trilateral meeting with South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Kim Sung Hwan on Saturday evening.