Through parties, president aims to boost Japan ties

President Xi Jinping has urged Beijing and Tokyo to boost exchanges among their ruling parties, deepen communication and cooperation and play a leading role in improving ties.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, called for the exchanges while meeting on Thursday in Beijing with visiting senior members of Japan's ruling coalition, formed by the Liberal Democratic Party and its junior partner Komeito party.

Toshihiro Nikai, secretary-general of the Liberal Democrats, and Yoshihisa Inoue, secretary-general of Komeito, led the Japanese delegation.

They were in China attending the seventh meeting of the China-Japan ruling parties exchange in Fujian province on Monday and Tuesday.

The meeting was established in 2006. Xi spoke highly of its role in promoting ties.

Xi also praised the two visiting secretary generals' long-term dedication to boosting exchanges among ruling parties of the two countries.

Nikai and Inoue voiced the Japanese ruling parties' readiness to reinforce cooperation with the CPC and make greater contributions to advancing China-Japan ties.

Song Tao, head of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, said the meeting on Thursday in Beijing shows the great importance Xi has attached to China-Japan ties as well as to exchanges among the ruling parties.

The recent seventh meeting of the China-Japan exchange mechanism was the largest of its kind and yielded fruitful outcomes, said Song, the CPC's senior official in charge of party-to-party exchanges. It fully tapped the ruling parties' role in offering political navigation, Song said.

According to Song, the ruling parties' meeting made in-depth exchanges of views on topics such as safeguarding the political basis for the bilateral ties, properly managing and controlling differences, improving pragmatic cooperation as well as advancing cooperation regarding the Belt and Road Initiative.

Song said Japan's ruling parties are encouraged to work with China to consistently strengthen political mutual trust, expand exchanges and cooperation and translate consensus reached by leaders of the two countries into actions to ensure a steady improvement in the relationship, Song added.

zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn