Premier Li Keqiang said on Nov 1 that China, the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Japan agreed to properly handle historical and sensitive issues lingering among the three neighbors.

Premier Li made the remarks at a joint press conference with ROK President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after the first China-Japan-ROK leaders’ meeting following a three-and-a-half-year hiatus.

China, the ROK and Japan should stick to the policy of facing up to history and looking forward to the future, so as to better develop trilateral cooperation and bilateral ties, he said.

He voiced his hope that the trilateral cooperation will be free from disturbances.

The trilateral summit, which came into being in 2008, was suspended in 2012 due to Japan’s policy of historical revisionism over its wartime past and right-leaning politics.

Premier Li called on the three countries to make commitment to the world in the 70th anniversary of the victory of the anti-fascist war to firmly advance trilateral cooperation, so as to contribute to regional peace and stability.

To achieve this goal, he urged the three sides to keep a firm grasp on the general direction of their relations, so as to push forward their cooperation and allow their just-resumed trilateral summitry to proceed regularly.

Park said that as this year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II and 50th anniversary of the normalization of ROK-Japan relations, the resumption of the trilateral summit in such a significant year was a major step toward peace and stability in Northeast Asia.

She said she hoped that the trilateral summit could serve as a catalyzer for enhancing trilateral cooperation and exchanges and improving relations among the three sides.

For his part, Abe said his country will host the next China-Japan-ROK summit next year and will use the outcome of the latest meeting as the starting point.