Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Thursday instructed Uichiro Niwa, Japan's new ambassador to China, to further develop Japan-China relations, public broadcaster NHK reported.

Kan made the instruction while meeting with Niwa, who is about to go to China to assume office, at the prime minister's residence.

Kan said that he spent some 10 years studying Japan-China relations, and voiced his hope that Niwa will make determined efforts to further strengthen bilateral ties.

After the meeting, Niwa told reporters that Japan will be left behind if it does not seek to cement ties with China in the economic area.

Following the direction of economic ties, Japan will strengthen political relations with China, he added.

At a cabinet meeting on June 15, Niwa, senior corporate adviser and former president of leading trading house Itochu Corp., was named as Japan's new ambassador to China. It is the first time the Japanese government has picked one from the private sector to serve as its ambassador to China.