The political confrontation between China and Japan is of no good to the two countries and their two peoples, said Yoshio Nakata, senior executive director of the Japanese Association for the Promotion of International Trade, noting that the two sides should strengthen their relations and carry out reciprocal cooperation.

Nakata made the remarks Wednesday at a forum on Sino-Japanese economic cooperation at the 16th China Harbin Fair for Trade and Economic Cooperation in northeastern Heilongjiang Province.

He said that although the two countries have made remarkable achievements in economic, trade and technical cooperation, there have emerged some problems in political and diplomatic affairs.

He stressed that Japan and China, taking into consideration the overall situation of bilateral relations and the long-term interests of the two peoples, should strengthen exchanges and dialogue between them since the two countries shoulder the important responsibility of ensuring peace and development in the region and the world.

"We hope the Japanese government will take concrete action to solve one by one the problems between the two countries," Nakata said.

He said that improved China-Japan trade will continue exerting a direct and great influence on Japan's economy. Further, China's booming economy has provided many opportunities to Japanese companies, including those in the steel and mining industries.

The trade volume between Japan and China, including Hong Kong, reached US$168.77 billion in 2004, accounting for about 20 percent of Japan's overall trade volume, he said.

As for future cooperation, Nakata said besides the previous sectors of cooperation, Japan will endeavor to promote bilateral cooperation in tertiary industries and prompt Japanese companies to join in the development of less-developed regions in China.

(Xinhua News Agency June 16, 2005)