Vice President Zeng Qinghong said in Beijing Tuesday that China will continue to follow its good-neighborly friendly policy towards Japan to boost bilateral ties.

In a meeting with Hiromu Nonaka, an honorary advisor of the Japan-China Friendship Association, Zeng urged the two countries to handle the bilateral ties from a strategic and historical level to start a new phase for the China-Japan relations.

He expressed the hope that the two countries will embrace the spirit of learning from history and looking forward to the future and strictly abide by the three political documents which laid the foundation of the China-Japan ties.

"This will not only benefit the two countries and the two peoples, but also help maintain peace, stability and development in the Asia Pacific region and the world as a whole," he said.

Zeng reviewed the development of the China-Japan ties over the past 33 years since the normalization of their relations, saying that the bilateral relations have improved greatly with increasing economic and trade cooperation and closer personnel exchanges.

"This hard-won result is the product of effort of several generations of our two countries and should thus be all the more cherished," Zeng said.

Zeng thanked Nonaka and other Japanese friends for their active efforts to promote the Sino-Japanese friendly ties.

Nonaka said the friendly ties between the Japanese and Chinese peoples are the foundation of the bilateral ties.

Nonaka said he will continue to make efforts to promote the friendship between the two peoples and push forward the healthy and long-term development of the Japan-China ties.

(Xinhua News Agency October 12, 2005)