China hopes Japan will jointly work for sustained, steady growth of ties: spokesperson

BEIJING, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- China hopes that Japan will form the right and objective perception of China and work with China for the sustained and steady growth of bilateral relations, foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said here on Monday.

Lin said so when answering a query concerning Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's recent remarks on bilateral relations when addressing the opening ceremony of the extraordinary session of the Diet.

Ishiba reportedly said he had an "engaged discussion" with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in mid-November in Lima, Peru, adding that "between Japan and China, there are various concerns and differences of opinion. However, we will also cooperate with each other in areas where we can."

Ishiba added that "China's stable development benefits the entire region," noting that he would promote the strategic Japan-China relations with mutual benefit and build "constructive and stable ties," which was agreed between him and President Xi, and carry out communication with China at every level including at the leader's level.

"A sustained, sound and stable China-Japan relationship is in the fundamental interest of both Chinese and Japanese peoples," Lin said.

China hopes that Japan will work with China, face history squarely and look to the future, form the right and objective perception of China, and make sure that Japan's policies and actions reflect the principles and direction identified in the four political documents, which, for instance, made clear that the two countries should be "cooperative partners rather than each other's threats," Lin said.

He called on the two countries to deepen practical cooperation in various fields, constructively manage differences and disputes, deliver on the important common understandings between the leaders of the two countries, and work for the sustained and steady growth of China-Japan relations.