Wen set to meet victims of quake and tsunami during summit in Japan
Premier Wen Jiabao will soon venture into another disaster zone to show the caring face of the central government, but this time he will be doing it overseas - in Japan.
Speaking to a Japanese business delegation yesterday, Wen said he wanted to show the support of the Chinese people for those affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that struck Fukushima prefecture when he attended a summit between the leaders of China, Japan and South Korea next weekend.
'I want to meet the Japanese people affected by the disaster,' Wen said.
Wen is always among the first top officials to meet disaster survivors. He has visited Wenchuan in Sichuan province 10 times since it was struck by a magnitude 8 quake three years ago.
According to Tokyo-based Chinese language news portal Ribenxinwen.com, Wen may visit Minamisanriku or Onagawa in Miyagi, where a Japanese man went missing after saving about 20 Chinese students.
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan is keen to use the summit to convince the outside world that the country has recovered rapidly from the disaster.
A report by Kyodo News Agency said Kan had consulted China and South Korea about hosting the summit in Fukushima. One idea is that the leaders deliver speeches in Fukushima before heading to Tokyo.
However, the suggestion may not be implemented because of security concerns, the report said.
Kan is expected to press China and South Korea to relax restrictions on Japanese food imports, imposed due to fears of radiation contamination after a partial meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Analysts said post-quake donations from China could help improve ties between the countries, which were damaged following Japan's arrest of a Chinese fishing boat captain after a collision with patrol boats near the disputed Diaoyu Islands last year.
