State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe held a video call with Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi on Dec 14.
Wei said both sides have reached a consensus on China-Japan relations in the new era, and both defense ministries should maintain exchanges between higher-ranking officials and pragmatic cooperation.
He also stressed accelerating construction of the maritime and air liaison mechanism as part of efforts to build constructive bilateral security relations.
China is determined to safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights concerning the East China Sea and Diaoyu Islands issues, Wei added. And both parties, he said, should focus on the big picture, with further communication and negotiation to properly dissolve divergences.
Nobuo Kishi said Japan is willing to beef up communication and cooperation with China in defense work and push forward the construction of the maritime and air liaison mechanism.