Major events in bilateral relations
1972 - Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka visits China on September 25.
Beijing and Tokyo issue the "Sino-Japanese Joint Statement" to restore
diplomatic relations on September 29.
1978 - China and Japan sign the Treaty of Peace and Friendship in August.
Chinese Vice-Premier Deng Xiaoping visits Japan in October.
1979 - Japanese Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira visits China in December and
commits to providing the first batch of Japanese government loans to China.
1980 - Chinese Premier Hua Guofeng visits Japan in May, the first visit by a
Chinese premier.
1984 - Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone visits China in March and
agrees to provide the second batch of Japanese government loans to China.
1985 - Peng Zhen, chairman of the Standing Committee of the NPC of China,
visits Japan in April, the first visit made by the chairman of the Standing
Committee of the NPC.
1998 - Japanese Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita visits China in August and
commits to the third batch of Japanese government loans to China.
1989 - Chinese Premier Li Peng visits Japan in April. When talking about the
history between China and Japan, Emperor Akihito for the first time uses the
word "regret" to apologize to China.
1992 - Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michito visit China in October,
the first visit by a Japanese emperor.
1995 - Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama visits China in May. During
his stay, Murayama becomes the first incumbent Japanese prime minister to visit
the Marco Polo Bridge and the Memorial Museum of the Chinese People's War of
Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.
1996 - Starting in July, members of Japanese right-wing groups land on Diaoyu
Island four times, known as the "Diaoyu Island Incident." On July 29, Prime
Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto visits the Yasukuni Shrine.
1998 - Chinese President Jiang Zemin makes an official visit to Japan in
November, the first visit to Japan by a Chinese head of state. The two sides
issue the Sino-Japanese Joint Declaration.
1999 - Japanese Prime Minister Obuchi makes an official visit to China in
July.
2000 - Premier Zhu Rongji makes an official visit to Japan in October.
2005 - Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visits the Yasukuni Shrine on October
17 for the fifth time since his election, prompting Chinese protests and the
cancellation of a visit by the Japanese foreign minister to Beijing scheduled
for late October.
2006 - Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing meets his Japanese counterpart
Taro Aso in Doha, Qatar, in May for the first time in a year.
(China Daily 08/04/2006 page2)
(China Daily 08/04/2006 page2)
(China Daily 08/04/2006 page1)
