Entrepreneurs from China and Japan have called for more cooperation in the trade, investment and financial sectors to build a better bilateral relationship.

“Business leaders should eliminate non-economic interference and further improve the business environment between the two countries,” said Zhang Yansheng, chief economist of the China Center for International Economic Exchange.

“Further bilateral cooperation in economics and trade in China, Japan or in a third country will not only demonstrate a model but also realize substantial economic benefits for the two parties.”

He made the speech during the Second Sino-Japanese Business and Former Government Leaders Dialog in Beijing, co-hosted by the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, and the China Center for International Economic Exchanges.

Around 60 heads of major companies attended, including leaders from Canon Inc, Nomura Holdings Inc, Dongfeng Motor Corp and Bank of China Ltd, with the hope of gaining a better understanding of changes in the business climate in each country.

The two-day meeting that concluded on Nov 2 reached the conclusion that strong cooperation between the world’s second and third-largest economies is vital not only for their prosperity but also for that of the rest of the world.

Sadayuki Sakakibara, chairman of Keidanren, said the time is ripe for the two countries to have a “new dimension of industrial cooperation” and they have to increase exchanges to achieve that progress.

According to Muneo Kurauchi, counselor of Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc, China and Japan should deepen cooperation in the fields of the environment, medical care, logistics and e-commerce.

China and Japan need to control the negative factors while focusing on the positive aspects regarding reciprocity and mutual benefit, said Kurauchi, who is also managing director of the Institute for International Monetary Affairs.

He also called for deepening cooperation in third-party markets in the areas including infrastructure in Asia and the Belt and Road projects.