Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on the sidelines of the leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation held in Vientiane, Laos, Oct. 10, 2024. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

Chinese Premier Li Qiang said in Vientiane on Thursday that the development of China and Japan is an important opportunity for each other, not a challenge.

Li made the remarks during his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on the sidelines of the leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation held in Vientiane.

Li said that as Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out in his congratulatory message to Ishiba, China and Japan are neighbors separated by a strip of water, and it serves the fundamental interests of the two peoples of both sides to walk on a road of peaceful coexistence, everlasting friendship, mutually beneficial cooperation and common development.

Li expressed his hope that the Japanese side will earnestly abide by the principles and consensus established in the four political documents between the two countries, meet China halfway, keep bilateral relations on the right track, well maintain the political foundation of bilateral ties, continuously strengthen dialogue and cooperation, promote the strategic relationship of mutual benefit between the two countries in an all-round way, and strive to build a constructive and stable China-Japan relationship that meets the requirements of the new era.

Li noted that China is ready to work with Japan to further leverage their respective comparative advantages, explore more new growth poles of cooperation in scientific and technological innovation, digital economy and green development, make good use of the dialogue mechanism on export controls, and jointly safeguard the stability and smooth flow of industrial and supply chains and the global free trade system.

He also urged the two sides to make greater efforts to support local, cultural, sports and youth exchanges and communications, and continuously enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples.

China is willing to strengthen coordination and cooperation with Japan in multilateral fields to jointly promote regional peace, stability, prosperity and development, he added.

For his part, Ishiba said that at present, Japan and China are moving forward in the direction of promoting the strategic relationship of mutual benefit between the two countries in an all-round way, as well as striving to build a constructive and stable bilateral relationship.

The Japanese side is willing to work with the Chinese side to look to the future, strengthen high-level exchanges, intensify dialogue and communication at all levels, resolve pending issues through consultation, continuously promote mutually beneficial cooperation and push for steady and long-term development of Japan-China relations, he said.

Ishiba noted that Japan has no intention of decoupling or severing industrial and supply chains with China, and hopes to deepen practical cooperation in various fields to deliver more benefits to the two peoples.

Japan's adherence to its position on the Taiwan question, as stated in the Japan-China Joint Statement, remains unchanged, he said, adding that Japan is willing to strengthen communication with China on international and regional issues to cope with challenges.