China's top political advisor Jia Qinglin met here on Thursday with visiting former Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama and urged both nations to expand exchanges and cooperation.
Jia, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top political advisory body, applauded Murayama's positive contribution to the development of friendly China-Japan relations.
China and Japan enjoy a long history of friendly exchanges, and the cultural and artistic exchanges between the two nations play an important role in the friendship between the two peoples, Jia said.
This year is the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Sino-Japanese peace and friendship treaty. The current situation of bilateral relations as a whole shows sound development momentum and presents new opportunities, Jia said.
He called for both sides to increase exchanges and cooperation, in line with the spirit of learning from history and looking forward to the future, so as to promote understanding and friendship between the two peoples and take strategic and reciprocal relations to a new level.
Murayama, who was here on a visit to attend activities related to the Ikuo Hirayama Exhibition at the invitation of the China-Japan Friendship Association, noted that the Hirayama exhibition was being held in Beijing during the year of the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Sino-Japanese peace and friendship treaty, and ahead of Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Japan. This was of special significance, he noted.
Murayama hoped that this exhibition would help promote cultural exchanges between Japan and China and contribute to the development of bilateral strategic and reciprocal relations.
Jia attended the opening ceremony and cut a ribbon to launch the exhibition. Source:Xinhua
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