China hopes Abe tightens ties with concrete action

China said it hopes Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will pursue positive policies towards China during his new tenure, following his re-election on Wednesday.

"China hopes the new Japanese cabinet pursues positive policies towards China, improves bilateral ties with concrete action and works with China to ensure the right direction for bilateral relations," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said during a news conference in Beijing on Thursday.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (front C) and his cabinet ministers attend a photo session at Abe's official residence in Tokyo, Japan November 1, 2017.

Hua said China has always advocated developing bilateral relations by abiding by the four political documents signed since normalizing ties in 1972 and the four-point principled agreement reached in 2014.

Both countries should work in the spirit of taking history as a mirror while looking into the future, she said.

"We hope Japan abides by these documents and consensuses," Hua added.

Abe, who has been Japanese prime minister since December 2012, was re-elected Wednesday after garnering a majority vote in the lower house while his ruling coalition holds a majority in the upper house.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)