China-Japan friendly cooperation is not only the requirement of times, but also in the interest of the two nations and the peoples, a senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) said in Beijing Thursday.  

Wang Jiarui, head of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, made the remark during a meeting with Watari Sugiichiro and Chihaya Akira, former chairman and present chairman of the Japan-China Association on Economy and Trade.

Wang said China attaches great importance to the Sino-Japanese relations, and sincerely hope that China and Japan can work to bring the bilateral relations back to the normal track of healthy and stable development.

Wang also hoped that Japanese businessmen will continue to carry on the traditional friendship between China and Japan, and contribute more to the development of the bilateral relations.

Watari Sugiichiro and Chihaya Akira said the association will go on with its efforts on cementing exchanges between Japanese and Chinese business circles and the two peoples in a bid to build mutually-trusted Japan-China relations.

(Xinhua News Agency July 8, 2005)