On September 10, 2004, newly appointed Chinese Ambassador to Japan Wang Yi received an interview by Chinese journalists before departing from Beijing for his post.
Wang Yi indicated that before leaving for Japan for a diplomatic mission, he would like to summarize his state of mind at the moment by "strictly observing my duty, dedicating myself to our country and people, forging ahead and trying to succeed in carrying out the mission". He said "to whatever places the country appoints us, we, as officials stationed abroad, should always set as top priority safeguarding the interests of the country and the people, safeguarding the national dignity and safeguarding our state image, firmly keep in mind the hopes of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the people and do a good job in earnestly implementing diplomatic guidelines and policies defined by the Central Committee of the CPC.
When talking about China-Japan relations, Wang Yi said that after decades of efforts, a good foundation has been laid down for political and economic relations as well as non-governmental exchanges between China and Japan, but it is natural that there are still some problems existing between them. He added that after taking the new role, he would work along with the whole staff of the Embassy to engage actively and extensively with people of various circles in Japan under the leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs while complying with the guidelines and policies towards Japan formulated by the Central Committee of the CPC. He noted that the scope of their work, though wide, could be summarized as consolidating the political basis, expanding common interests, deepening mutually beneficial cooperation and bringing benefits to the two peoples.