Premier Li Keqiang met with a Japanese economic delegation headed by Chairman of the Japan-China Economic Association Shoji Muneoka, Chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Akio Mimura, and Chairman of Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) Nobuyuki Koga, in Beijing on Sept 11.

More than 200 executives from major Japanese companies attended the meeting.

Premier Li said that with concerted efforts from both sides, China-Japan relations returned to the normal track last year, with bilateral trade and economic cooperation moving forward at a stable and steady pace.

Investments from Japan reached a two-digit growth, showing vast cooperation prospects, he said.

During the difficult time in bilateral relations, Japanese economic circles made great efforts and important contributions to keep the relations steady and healthy.

Faced with more uncertain and unstable factors in the global economy, China and Japan, two major economies, should take complementary advantage of each other and strengthen cooperation, Premier Li said.

"It will benefit the two nations, and is also conducive to the regional and global economy, as well as world peace and prosperity," he said.

Economic globalization is irreversible, the Premier said. China always supports the multilateral trade mechanism with the World Trade Organization at the core and strives for freedom and convenience in trade and investment.

China will continue pushing forward comprehensive opening-up in more areas at higher levels, and is dedicated to a market-oriented, rule-based and internationalized business environment, the Premier said.

He encouraged Japanese economic circles to grab opportunities to invest in China and expand cooperation, generating more achievements for bilateral economic and trade development.

The heads of the delegation sent congratulations on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and said that Japan-China relations have made progress since last year, and close high-level exchanges between the two countries greatly contributed to economic and trade cooperation.

Japanese economic circles firmly support free trade and expect China and the US to solve trade disputes through negotiations, they said.

They appreciate China’s efforts in promoting free trade and investment, expanding market access and improving the business environment, and hope to increase cooperation in technological innovation, climate change, population aging, healthcare and third-party markets.

And finally, they hope the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership can be reached next year to inject new dynamism into regional and global economic development.