Bilateral relations are one of the most important diplomatic priorities for both China and Japan according to a joint press statement they issued Sunday.

The statement was published as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe started a visit to Beijing.

Both sides agreed to make efforts to build a mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests and to realize the goals of peaceful co-existence, friendship, mutually beneficial cooperation and common development, the statement said.

Sustaining the healthy and stable development of Sino-Japanese relations was in the fundamental interests of both countries and the two shared the responsibility to jointly and constructively contribute to the peace, stability and development of Asia and the world, it says.

Abe is on a two-day official visit to China. He met with President Hu Jintao and Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) and held talks with Premier Wen Jiabao.

Both sides believed that since the normalization of bilateral relations 34 years ago China and Japan had continuously expanded and deepened exchanges and cooperation as inter-dependence grew, says the statement.?

The two governments agreed to continue to abide by the principles of the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement, the Sino-Japanese Treaty of Peace and Friendship and the Sino-Japanese Joint Declaration. They agreed to squarely face history and look the future, continued the statement.

They also agreed to properly deal with problems affecting the development of relations and to promote bilateral relations through expanding both political and economic links. Both sides believed contact and dialogue between their leaders was significant for the healthy development of relations.

The Japanese invited Chinese leaders to visit their country for which gratitude was expressed and consent in principle given. They agreed to further discuss the issue through diplomatic channels and to hold frequent talks on occasions of international meetings, the statement adds.?

The Chinese emphasized their peaceful development plans and would work with other countries including Japan to pursue common development and prosperity.

The statement says the Japanese commented positively on China's pursuit of peaceful development and the huge opportunities it had brought to the international community including Japan since it began to reform and open to the outside world.

The Japanese stressed they’d been pursuing and would continue to pursue the route of a peaceful country since the end of the World War II more than 60 years ago. The Chinese commented positively on this.

In order to make the East China Sea a "sea of peace, cooperation and friendship" both agreed to speed up consultation and settle relevant disputes through dialogue and consultation, the statement says.?

The two countries also pledged to deepen mutual-beneficial cooperation in pivotal areas such as energy, environmental protection, finance, information technology and the protection of intellectual property rights.

According to the statement scholars of the two countries would start joint historical research this year.

The two would also promote ministerial-level dialogue in economic fields and enhance mutual trust in security issues through discussion and defense exchanges.

As the year 2007 marks the 35th anniversary of the normalization of China-Japan ties both? vowed to take the opportunity to increase friendly relations between the two countries through the China-Japan Year of Culture and Sports as well as youth exchanges, the statement continues.??

The two countries also agreed to enhance coordination and cooperation in international and regional issues.

The statement says both are "deeply concerned" over the situation on the Korean Peninsula including the nuclear test plan of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The two expressed a willingness to work with the other parties concerned to promote the process of the six-party talks and dedicate themselves to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, it says.

Also the two countries vowed to strengthen coordination on east Asian cooperation and among China, Japan and the Republic of Korea and jointly promote east Asian integration.

According to the statement both countries were in favor of "necessary" and "reasonable" reform of the United Nations including its Security Council.

(Xinhua News Agency October 9, 2006)