China and Japan agreed to maintain communication to prevent isolated incidents from affecting bilateral relations, as Vice-Foreign Minister Sun Weidong met on Monday in Beijing with Yoshifumi Tsuge, Japan's state minister for foreign affairs.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a daily news briefing that the two sides exchanged views on bilateral ties and issues of common concern, reiterating their stance on valuing and developing China-Japan relations.

During their meeting, Sun and Tsuge also discussed a tragic incident in which a 10-year-old Japanese boy was fatally stabbed last week on his way to school in Shenzhen, Guangdong province.

Lin said that both sides acknowledged each other's efforts in handling the unfortunate incident properly and calmly. Noting that the case is still under investigation, he said that China will continue to provide assistance to the boy's family in handling related matters.

After the incident, many people — the vast majority of whom were local Chinese residents — went to the school gate to lay flowers and express their condolences, Lin said, adding that such gestures demonstrated collective opposition to violence and conveyed the hope that the friendship between the two peoples will continue for generations.

The spokesman reiterated "regret and sadness" over the incident, and emphasized that the way local residents expressed their grief over the Japanese boy's death reflected Chinese people's respect for life.

"China will, as always, treat its foreign friends with courtesy, sincerity and equality, and do its best to safeguard the life and property of all foreign citizens in China," he said.

Lin emphasized that China's objective to advocate learning from history is not to perpetuate hatred, but to prevent the tragedy of war from happening again, cherish the hard-won peace and look forward to a better future.

China is willing to work together with Japan to comprehensively advance the strategic and mutually beneficial ties based on the foundation of the four political documents between the two countries, as well as promote a constructive and stable China-Japan relationship that meets the requirements of the new era, Lin added.

According to reports, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Japanese counterpart Yoko Kamikawa are expected to meet in New York this week.