Li Ruihuan, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), arrived in Tokyo Wednesday morning for an official eight-day good-will visit at the invitation of the Japanese government.

This is Li's first trip to Japan and the last leg of his ongoing three-nation Asia tour which has already taken him to Sri Lanka and Maldives.

Li and his party were greeted at the airport by Chinese Ambassador to Japan Chen Jian and senior officials from the Japanese Foreign Ministry as well as representatives of Chinese Japanese and overseas Chinese.

In his statement upon arrival at the airport, Li said that China, the biggest developing country, and Japan, a big economic power in the world, are neighbors separated by a strip of water. The development of friendly and cooperative partnership devoting to peace and development in the coming century is in the fundamental interests of the two peoples and will benefit peace, stability and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region and the world at large.

Li noted that the aim of his current visit is to conduct extensive contact with people of various circles and exchange views on bilateral relations and other issues of common concern, so as to enhance mutual understanding, expand common acknowledgment and deepen cooperation and friendship, thus accelerating the development of Sino-Japanese relations in a healthy and stable way.