Friday, April 29 2005 11:11 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Beijing: Amid tense Sino-Japan relations over history, China yesterday (Apr 28, 2005) hoped that Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to India would contribute to regional peace, stability and development.

"I think the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi to India falls within the bilateral contacts between Japan and India," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters in Beijing.

"We hope that the bilateral ties between Japan and India could contribute to peace and stability as well as prosperity and development of the region," Qin said when asked to comment on Koizumi's visit to India from yesterday.

Koizumi's trip to New Delhi comes only weeks after a landmark visit by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to India. It also comes amid a serious rift between Beijing and Tokyo due to the large-scale anti-Japan demonstrations in various Chinese cities.

The Chinese leadership, people and the State media are furious at a revised Japanese school textbook, which they claim distorts atrocities committed by Japanese military during its 1931-45 occupation of China.

China and Japan are also at odds over Tokyo's bid for a permanent membership of the UN Security Council (UNSC).

At the briefing, Qin stated China's stance that UN reforms should not be rushed through and called for extensive consultation and consensus among member states. "China believes that the UN reform covers various fields and levels. We stand for the reform of the Security Council," he said when asked to comment on Japan's bid for the UNSC.