Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has told Japan that it must keep its word on issues related to wartime history, urging the country to handle differences in a responsible manner.

Li made the remarks during a meeting in Beijing with Shotaro Yachi, head of Japan's National Security Council and a key adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Li Keqiang said that ties between China and Japan are important- not only to people from both countries, but also in terms of regional peace, stability and prosperity. He said China hopes Japan can keep its promises to seriously address the concerns of Asian countries which suffered from past Japanese aggression.

In response, Shotaro Yachi said Japan is willing to face up to the sufferings it brought to its neighbors in the past, and enhance communication with China in the future, in order to better relations.

Yachi's visit comes after the Japanese parliament's lower house on Thursday approved security bills designed to expand the role of the country's Self-Defense Forces. The bills will now be debated in due course by Japan's upper house.

During his China visit, Yachi also met with Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi, who urged the Japanese side to earnestly draw lessons from history, and not to do anything detrimental to regional peace and stability.

Yachi also met with Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan, who expressed concern over the new security bills, calling them an "unprecedented move" that will have a complicated influence on regional security and strategic stability.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of China's victory in the war against Japanese aggression.