9月18日早间英文播报：Xi greets Suga on election as Japanese PM

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Yoshihide Suga (C) stands after beingelected as Japan's new prime minister in Tokyo, Japan, on Sept 16, 2020.[Photo/Xinhua]

Messageurges relationship that benefits two peoples, is consistent with new era

President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatorymessage to Yoshihide Suga on his election as prime minister of Japan onWednesday, saying the two countries should forge a bilateral relationship thatis consistent with the needs of the new era and benefits the two nations andpeoples.

In the message, Xi said a long-term,stable, friendly and cooperative relationship between China and Japan, asfriendly neighbors and important countries in Asia and the world, fits with thefundamental interests of the two peoples.

A healthy bilateral relationship also helpswith the peace, stability and prosperity of both Asia and the world, he said.

The two sides should abide by principlesset by the four political documents and the four-point principled agreementbetween the two nations and make positive contributions to global peace andcommon development, he said.

Premier Li Keqiang also sent acongratulatory message to Suga on Wednesday.

China stands ready to work with Japan tostep up friendly exchanges and pragmatic cooperation in various areas and worktoward greater progress in bilateral relations, he said.

Suga was named Japan's new prime ministerfollowing a vote in the country's parliament on Wednesday, succeeding ShinzoAbe as the leader of the world's third-largest economy.

Relations between Beijing and Tokyo havebeen on stable footing in recent years. Li paid an official visit to Japan inMay 2018, the first by a Chinese premier in eight years, and Abe visited Chinain October of that year.

While attending the G20 Summit in Osaka inJune 2019, Xi accepted in principle an invitation from Abe to make a statevisit to Japan in the spring. The visit has been delayed due to the COVID-19pandemic.

During a news briefing on Wednesday,Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said that Beijing approves of recentstatements made by Suga to establish stable diplomatic relations withneighboring countries including China.

Da Zhigang, a researcher on Japanesestudies at Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, wrote in asigned article online that stability may remain a policy priority for Suga inhis diplomatic policies with China.

"Suga's basic consideration inrelations with China may be amplifying the positive legacy left behind by Abein Japan-China relations," he said.

He said that Suga may follow Abe'stwo-sided policy of standing his ground with Beijing in areas such as diplomacywhile continuing an emphasis on improving bilateral relations on a flexiblebasis.

With COVID-19 raging worldwide andmultilateralism being tested, it is an important time for China and Japan tobolster anti-epidemic cooperation and consolidate their trade and economiccooperation, Da said.

Suga was picked as leader of Japan's rulingLiberal Democratic Party on Monday with about 70 percent of the votes.

After becoming Japan's first new leader inalmost eight years, the 71-year-old son of a strawberry farmer pledged to dohis utmost to contain the pandemic and deal with its economic fallout, whichled to the country's worst contraction in modern times.

In a sign that Suga will put a high priorityon political stability and continuity, he chose half of the new Cabinet fromcarry-overs from Abe's administration, with several major posts remainingunchanged.

"The new Cabinet showed Suga'ssolicitude for his allies," said Yuzo Tanaka, a professor of economics atRyukoku University in Kyoto. "The point is whether they can face up to aplethora of challenges including tackling COVID-19 while reviving a batteredeconomy and dealing with a rapidly aging and declining population.

"There is only a short window for Sugato offer results and it will decide whether he will be a long-term leader orjust an interim one," Tanaka added.

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记者：徐伟、王旭

播报：OwenFishwick

原文链接：

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202009/17/WS5f62a025a31024ad0ba7a03e.html