"Quick response from the Chinese government, support from other countries and participation from the Chinese people -- they all helped greatly with the disaster relief efforts, " said Jiang Li, vice minister of civil affairs.

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With preparations in hand to turn the forthcoming party congress into a curtain-raiser for the new Jiang-Li era, nothing would give the Chinese leaders greater satisfaction than a full and abject official apology from Mr Hashimoto for Japan's militaristic past.

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In Beijing, Li was enthusiastically received by Jiang and then-premier Li Peng.

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