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SCOTT JAGOW: China and Japan have been neighbors for 2,000 years. Of course a lot of that time, they’ve been bitter rivals but perhaps doing a little business might help mend that fence. Today, China’s Premier Wen Jiabao made a historic speech to Japan’s Parliament. And the two countries signed some deals. Daniel Schearf reports from Beijing.
DANIEL SCHEARF: Mr. Wen is on a mission to get Japanese investment in China again.
In 2005 anti-Japanese riots in China triggered an outflow of Japanese cash.
Joseph Cheng is a professor of political science at Hong Kong’s City University. He says China certainly wants to reverse this trend.
JOSEPH CHENG: And, Japan certainly has a lot to offer in terms of technology transfer, investment, and so on. And, Japan certainly considers China a very important production base.
Mr. Wen is the first Chinese Premier to speak to Japan’s Parliament in 22 years. He said Tokyo and Beijing should put the wounds of the Second World War behind them and look to future cooperation.
China and Japan are the world’s second and third largest oil consumers. They signed deals to enhance energy cooperation and agreed to jointly develop fields in areas of the East China Sea.
In Beijing, I’m Daniel Schearf for Marketplace.