TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Nov 25 agreed that both sides should work together to further improve bilateral ties and strengthen people-to-people exchanges.

Japan and China have witnessed frequent high-level exchanges and positive progress in the improvement of bilateral relations recently, said Abe, adding that the Japanese side is eagerly looking forward to Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit next spring and believes that it will be a major opportunity for promoting bilateral relations in the new era.

A stable Japan-China relationship is the cornerstone of peace and prosperity in Asia, and is also crucial to addressing current global challenges. Japan is ready to work with China to usher in a new future of bilateral relations, he said.

Japan welcomes the launch of the high-level consultation mechanism on people-to-people exchanges between the two countries and stands ready to work with China to continuously boost the affinity between the two peoples and properly handle sensitive differences so as to create a favorable atmosphere and conditions for the improvement and development of bilateral relations, he added.

Abe also said he is looking forward to further in-depth communication with Chinese leaders on bilateral ties during his visit to China next month to attend the China-Japan-ROK (Republic of Korea) leaders' meeting.

Wang, for his part, said that with the political guidance of the two leaders and joint efforts of both sides, China-Japan relations have returned to the right track and have seen a sound momentum of improvement and development. The top leaders of the two countries had a successful meeting in Osaka in June and reached important consensus on building bilateral relations that meet the requirements of the new era.

The China-Japan relations have gone through twists and turns and the present situation has not come easily and should be doubly cherished, Wang said.

The two sides should push for continuous improvement and development of China-Japan relations from a longer-term and broader perspective, he said.

He called on the Japanese side to meet China halfway, take more positive actions, properly manage and handle differences so as to create a favorable atmosphere and conditions for the proposed major political and diplomatic agenda of the two countries.

The improvement and development of China-Japan relations not only conform to the interests of the two countries and peoples but also has great positive significance to regional peace and stability, injecting stability into the current world situation which is full of uncertainty, said Wang.

The Chinese side welcomes Abe to attend the China-Japan-ROK leaders' meeting in China next month. China is willing to work with Japan to give full play to the role of the high-level consultation mechanism on people-to-people exchanges, usher in a new era of exchanges between our peoples, localities and youth, and create a brighter future for bilateral relations, he said.