BEIJING — China is willing to work with Japan to improve bilateral ties, State Councilor Yang Jiechi said on Feb 23, as he held talks with Japanese national security advisor Shotaro Yachi.

Yang said China had noticed Japan’s positive attitude in developing relations with China for some time, and was willing to work with Japan to achieve further improvement and development of bilateral ties.

Hailing the four China-Japan political documents, as well as the four-point principled agreement reached in 2014, Yang said the two sides should continuously build up strategic mutual trust, properly handle vital and sensitive issues, and maintain the political foundation of bilateral ties.

“We also hope that both sides follow the trend of the times to seek mutual benefit, and make concerted efforts to promote peace, cooperation and development in Asia,” Yang said.

For his part, Yachi said Japan looked forward to working with China to achieve continuous and steady improvements in bilateral relations.