Note: This is a rough translation is for English-speaker's reference only, and the original Japanese version can be seen at http://tokyo-beijingforum.net/index.php/programs/9th/9th-beijing-consensus

'Beijing Consensus"

The 9th Tokyo-Beijing Forum took place in Beijing for two days from Oct. 26, 2013, and about 80 dignitaries, opinion leaders and journalists from China and Japan enthusiastically exchanged their views on problems of mutual interest.

We came up with a special resolve toward the latest two-day session in Beijing. That was a determination to fulfill our responsibility to use non-governmental diplomacy (public diplomacy) to overcome the difficulties between the two countries with "the strength of dialogue." This determination represents the starting point that we have adhered to since the inauguration of the Beijing-Tokyo Forum nine years ago.

It was this very mission for private-sector diplomacy that we continued for the past two days.

We understand that in order to find a way out of the situation, it is necessary to start discussions with a calm, long-term perspective to open up the future between the two countries' peoples and that now is the time for us to do so. We believe that these calm voices must be spread among the two countries' peoples in order to help cool the tense atmosphere and improve the political environment for intergovernmental diplomatic efforts.

While maintaining this strong belief for the past two days, we conducted discussions and agreed on the points as stated below. We will propose these agreed points as the "Beijing Consensus," a proposal by the private sector from both countries.

1. The two countries are geographically very close to each other, and share many common interests and challenges as major neighboring countries in Asia. Efforts to develop relations between the two countries in a stable manner are indispensable not only for bilateral interests but also for the interests of Asia as a whole and the world. These mutually inseparable interests should be defended whatever happens. The two countries must improve the unstable bilateral relations and prevent a further deterioration in the situation, and keep the adverse feelings the two countries' peoples have toward each other from escalating. To this end, efforts to deepen mutual understanding between the two countries' peoples should be continued along with calm discussions aimed at objectively looking at the difficulties between the two countries.

We realize that our discussions at the 9th Beijing-Tokyo Forum represented the first important step in this direction. We will make serious efforts to find a clue for a practical solution from a future-oriented, mutually reciprocal point of view in the long run.

2. We reconfirm the crucial importance of four political documents exchanged between the governments of Japan and China, such as the Joint Communique, and the Japan-China Peace and Friendship Treaty, and agree on the following points from the position of respecting efforts between the two countries to ensure their peaceful coexistence and development. Any confrontation should be solved by peaceful means, and it is peaceful coexistence, nothing else, that must be an ultimate goal to be pursued by the two countries. Whatever the provocation, the two countries should not resort to military means to solve any confrontation and challenge, and they should consider how to avoid a dispute first of all. In other words, the two countries should not choose any kind of action that may lead to war.

This "no-war pledge" must be supported not only by intellectuals from the two countries but also by a broad range of people in both countries. To this end, we will continuously organize dialogue that is open to the two countries' peoples and provide the results of our dialogue to help facilitate efforts to establish favorable bilateral relations and a new political order in East Asia on the basis of healthy public opinion.

3. In order to cope with the confrontation over the Senkaku Islands, there is an urgent need for both governments to launch talks. We call on the governments of Japan and China to resolve problems through peaceful means, and to establish a crisis management mechanism that will be effective, in longer terms, for the prevention of an accidental clash. At the same time, we will continue dialogue and conduct a joint study to deepen our mutual understanding in pursuit of a "new wisdom" on this matter.

4. It is the common foundation for us to accept historical facts objectively, and to learn lessons from history in order to ensure a long-term and stable development of Japan-China relations. This is the responsibility for both countries to bear for the peace of Asia and the world, at large, in the future.

We recognize the fact that there exist various differences of opinions between the two countries. By recognizing the differences, we will continue dialogue to overcome the confrontation while paying due respect to each other's stances.

At the latest meeting, we agreed on the above-mentioned four points. We reconfirmed that our dialogue in Beijing at the latest meeting was aimed at overcoming the obstacles facing the two countries and launching new moves toward the future. We also confirmed that we will continue discussions on proposals forwarded by both sides and make serious efforts to obtain a consensus.

In order to implement the agreed points above, the Chinese and Japanese executive committees of this forum, as well as its organizers agreed to continue their dialogue and promised to realize the expected purposes.