Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie told his Japanese counterpart Toshimi Kitazawa?in Hanoi?Monday that China hopes Japan would properly handle sensitive issues in bilateral relations so as to make the relationship back to normal track at an early date.

Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie?holds a conversation with?his Japanese counterpart Toshimi Kitazawa in Hanoi, October 11, 2010.

The Chinese government stands for promoting mutual understanding through dialogue and overcoming differences between the two sides through consultation, said Liang during a conversation with Kitazawa on the sidelines of the 1st ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus).

Liang said the Sino-Japanese relations have been seriously damaged recently due to Japan's illegal detention of Chinese fishermen and fishing vessel near China's Diaoyu Islands, adding that "this is what we do not want to see."

The Chinese defense chief said China has always attached great importance to the development of Sino-Japanese relationship and called for enhancing mutual trust and solving differences through consultation in order to maintain the overall situation of bilateral relations.

Liang also said that China attaches importance to bilateral defense exchanges, hoping the two sides to increase mutual trust and promote the healthy development of Sino-Japanese defense exchanges.

For his part, Kitazawa said Japan and China are friendly neighbors, and both sides should calmly and properly handle the existing problems.

He also said the two sides should strengthen exchanges in all areas to promote their ties, especially in the field of defense exchanges.

China-Japan relations have been strained since a collision between two Japanese Coast Guard patrol ships and a Chinese trawler on Sept. 7 in the waters off the Diaoyu Islands, which are inalienable part of China.

Japan's illegal detention of the Chinese trawler and crew members have incurred strong protests from the Chinese government and public.