China and Japan should take the chance to push forward the relations on the track of long-term, healthy and stable development, said a Chinese leader on Saturday afternoon.

Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), put forward a five-point proposal to further improve Sino-Japanese relations in a meeting with Nikai Toshihiro, chairman of the General Council of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

The proposal included strengthening the high-level exchange of visits and political trust; expanding economic and trade cooperation; enhancing personnel exchanges; promoting political contact; and properly handle the sensitive issues to safeguard the political foundation of Sino-Japanese relations.

Jia said China and Japan are important countries of Asia and the world, and Sino-Japanese good-neighborly relations benefit the two countries and peoples and is in conformity with the trends of the times.

He said China would observe the principles in the three Sino-Japanese political documents to build up strategic and reciprocal relations to achieve the goal of peaceful existence, reciprocal cooperation, common development and friendship generation by generation.

(Xinhua News Agency December 9, 2007)