TOKYO — Some 70 business leaders, former senior officials, experts and scholars exchanged views on enhancing bilateral cooperation at the third round of Sino-Japanese Entrepreneurs and Former High-level Officials Dialogue that kicked off in Tokyo on Monday.

Zeng Peiyan, former Chinese vice premier and chairman of China Center for International Economic Exchanges, and Yasuo Fukuda, former Japanese premier, are among the participants of the dialogue.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and political heavyweights attended a reception of the dialogue Monday evening.

Abe said at the reception that Japan and China are close neighbors, and the two sides have reached an agreement on consolidating and enhancing the momentum for improvement in bilateral ties, deepening bilateral and multilateral cooperation in various areas and jointly exploring third party markets during a meeting of leaders of the two countries last month.

He said that the Sino-Japanese entrepreneurs and former high-level officials dialogue is playing a more and more important role in promoting pragmatic cooperation between the two sides and he hopes the dialogue could continue to provide new impetus to bilateral economic cooperation.

Zeng said that Chinese leaders attach great importance to bilateral relationship with Japan, and China has been constantly advocating pushing for the steady and long-term development of bilateral relations based on the four important political documents between China and Japan and in the spirit of taking history as a mirror while facing forward to the future.

As this year marks the 45th anniversary of the normalization of China-Japan diplomatic ties, leaders of both China and Japan expressed their wishes to enhance bilateral ties, Zeng said.

He added that while the steady development of bilateral ties is in the interests of both sides, economic and trade cooperation is one of the most important mutual interests of the two sides and serves as a bedrock of bilateral relations.

It is sincerely hoped that the two sides could further enhance mutual trust and create a better political environment for bilateral economic and trade cooperation, Zeng added.

The Sino-Japanese entrepreneurs and former high-level officials dialogue, coorganized by China Center for International Economic Exchanges and Japan Business Federation and held in Japan and China alternatively, is aimed at enhancing mutual trust and understanding between entrepreneurs of the two countries and providing positive energy for bilateral relations.

At the third round of dialogue held this year, participants exchanged views on new ideas of economic and trade cooperation, with the focus on trade, investment and industry cooperation as well as third-party market exploration.