Premier Li Keqiang said on May 10 that new progress and lasting, stable development should be sought in China and Japan’s relationship as it gets back on track.

This is the best way to commemorate the signing of a China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship, Premier Li told a reception marking the 40th anniversary of the treaty in Tokyo.

In the speech, Premier Li also said China will make efforts to protect the global economy by promoting free trade.

“Under the current circumstances of a long-awaited recovery in the global economy, growing protectionism is rearing its head again. I believe Japan and China should further maintain multilateral trade, protect free trade, and fight protectionism to maintain the recovery momentum of the global economy,” Premier Li noted.

Premier Li added that China and Japan will work in tandem to resolve the nuclear crisis and achieve denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.

Earlier on May 10, Premier Li met Japan’s Emperor Akihito at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. Emperor Akihito expressed his wish that relations of goodwill between their nations would further improve. It is the first time the emperor has met with a Chinese premier since his meeting with Wen Jiabao in June 2010.

Premier Li said he hopes his visit this year would help develop bilateral ties into a “long-lasting and stable relationship,” according to the Imperial Household Agency.

During their 20-minute meeting, Emperor Akihito thanked Premier Li for China’s move to donate a pair of crested ibises to Japan. “Although ibises were once extinct in Japan, I’m glad many are being bred again thanks to China’s help.”

Premier Li is scheduled to visit the northernmost main island of Hokkaido from the night of May 10 through the afternoon of May 11.