Premier Li Keqiang met with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono in Beijing on Jan 28.

Premier Li said China-Japan relations maintain an improving momentum. “We have noticed the positive signal released by the Japanese side on its relations with China,” he said.

However, uncertainties still exist even though there are more positive factors for the bilateral ties, he added.

Premier Li called for both sides to work together to maintain the current momentum that drives the China-Japan relationship in a good direction.

On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship, the two countries should review the spirit embodied in the treaty, properly deal with sensitive issues, such as historical issues, manage differences, and grasp opportunities this year to get China-Japan relations back on the right track, he said.

Premier Li said bilateral relations also exert important influence in the region and the world at large.

As China and Japan have broad space for cooperation thanks to their highly complementary economies, he hopes Japan will create a good environment and meet expectations from the two countries’ people and enterprises, in a spirit of reviewing history and looking forward into the future to intensify the foundation for restarting related dialogue mechanisms and promoting cooperation in the East Asia region.

Kono said people from all walks of life in Japan are looking forward to comprehensively improved China-Japan relations. Japan is willing to take the 40th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship as an opportunity to join hands with the Chinese side to further improve and deepen bilateral ties, he added.

Japan looks forwards to holding a new round of China-Japan-Republic of Korea leaders’ meetings as soon as possible, and hopes to welcome Premier Li on a future official visit, according to Kono.

Noting the two countries’ economies are highly complementary, he said he hopes that both sides, guided by a strategic and mutually beneficial relationship, will further strengthen exchanges among enterprises, re-initiate high-level economic dialogues, explore ways of third-party cooperation, and deepen friendship between the people of the two nations, so as to bring bilateral ties back to the track of sound development.