Vice President Hu Jintao said in Beijing October 28 that a partnership of friendly cooperation dedicated to peace and development is the new target for China-Japan relations in the coming century.

Hu, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China ( CPC), was speaking to Koichi Kato, former secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Japan.

Hu said that the consensus reached between Chinese President Jiang Zemin and Japanese Prime Minister Keizo over the past two years to work for a partnership of friendly cooperation dedicated to peace and development was an important outcome of two-way exchanges.

The vice president stressed that as China and Japan are both important countries in Asia and the world, they share significant responsibilities for maintaining and enhancing regional and world peace, stability and prosperity.

As the 21st century approaches, Hu said, China and Japan should make concerted efforts to bring the healthy, sustainable and stable Sino-Japanese relations into the new millennium.

Kato noted that Japan has attached great importance to its relations with China since the two countries established diplomatic ties, and Japan has strictly followed the joint declaration and upheld the "one China" principle.

He said that for better development of bilateral relations, statesmen of both countries, especially the younger generation, should increase exchanges and educate their junior generation to learn from history and remain friendly from generation to generation.