President Hu Jintao said yesterday that exchanges between the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the major political parties of Japan, including the New Komeito Party, the minority member of Japan's coalition government, are extremely important.

 

During a meeting with Akihiro Ota, head of the New Komeito Party, Hu spoke highly of its long-term friendly policy toward China.

 

"Party exchanges between China and Japan play a unique role in enhancing friendship between the Chinese and Japanese people and the sound development of state relations," Hu said.

 

Ota praised the recent improvement in bilateral ties, hoping the two countries would maintain high-level contacts whilst using the current momentum to expand cooperation in various fields.

 

The New Komeito Party also believes developing good-neighborly and cooperative relations with China is important, Ota said.

 

"We will carry out the friendly tradition of bilateral ties and make new efforts to enhance our friendship," Ota said.

 

China-Japan relations warmed again after Japan's new leader Shinzo Abe's ice-breaking visit to Beijing last October. This year marks the 35th anniversary of the normalization of bilateral ties.

 

(Xinhua News Agency January 9, 2007)