Xi underlines role of interactions in Sino-Japan ties

President Xi Jinping on Monday underlined the importance of promoting people-to-people exchanges to support the development of China-Japan relationship in the new era.

He made the remark in a message congratulating the opening of the first meeting of the China-Japan high-level consultation mechanism on people-to-people and cultural exchanges.

Noting that the China-Japan relations are continuously improving, Xi called on both sides to make good use of the mechanism to push forward people-to-people and cultural exchanges and facilitate close ties between their people.

He said in the message that China and Japan, as two neighbors that enjoy deep connections in history, have promoted each other's development by learning from each other and both contributed to the progress of Asian civilizations.

As the world has been going through profound changes unseen in a century, Xi said the power of culture has an indispensable role for mankind to jointly deal with the challenges and strive for a better future.

People all over the world should conform to the trend of times and strengthen communications to write together a new chapter of human civilization, Xi added.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in the congratulatory message that the consultation mechanism, a consensus reached between Xi and him, is aimed to deepen the mutual understanding and friendly feelings between the people in both countries by carrying out a wide range of exchanges.

He said he hoped that the mechanism can consolidate the foundation of people's support for building Japan-China relationship in the new era and contribute to the future of bilateral ties.