Visiting senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Li Changchun on Monday met separately with Hiroyuki Hosoda, secretary-general of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party, Ichiro Ozawa, president of the Democratic Party of Japan, and Kazuo Shii, leader of the Japan Communist Party.

Li, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, said party-to-party exchanges were an important component of the overall relationship between the two countries and that the CPC and Japan's political parties now can conduct exchanges and cooperation on a regular basis.

Party-to-party exchanges have played an important role in promoting the sound and stable development of bilateral ties and mutual understanding and trust between the two peoples, he said.

Important progress was made in Sino-Japanese relations last year thanks to the efforts of both sides, marked by the frequent exchanges of visits by leaders of the two countries, Li said.

During Chinese President Hu Jintao's successful visit to Japan last May, the two sides reached broad consensus over a wide range of major issues, he said.

Solid progress was made in bilateral exchanges and cooperation in politics, trade and economy, culture and defense and the two sides also maintained good communication and coordination in international and regional affairs, Li said.

Against the backdrop of the spreading global financial crisis, China and Japan now share greater responsibilities, and enjoy more scope for cooperation, Li said.

The political parties of the two countries should make further efforts to bring bilateral ties to a new height, Li said.

The two sides should keep the trend of frequent exchanges of high-level visits and strengthen communication and dialogue at the governmental, party and parliamentary levels, he said, adding that China and Japan should join hands in tackling the global financial crisis.

The two countries should adhere to the principles and spirit enshrined in the four political documents between them, and speak and act prudently on major and sensitive issues concerning the fundamental interests and national sentiment of the two countries, he said.

Vigorous efforts should be made to implement the important consensus reached between the top leaders of the two countries, and the two countries should also continue to promote communication, coordination and cooperation in international and regional affairs, Li said.

The leaders of Japan's political parties agreed with Li's views and said Sino-Japanese relations are one of the most important bilateral relationships for Japan.

Hiroyuki said the two countries share broad common interests in international and regional issues, and bear a special responsibility for maintaining and promoting peace and development in Asia.

Ozawa said Sino-Japanese relations face a new and important opportunity for development, and his party is ready to make unremitting efforts to deepen cooperation in various fields between the two countries.

Shii expressed the willingness to further strengthen exchanges with the CPC on theoretical issues.

The three party leaders also spoke highly of the series of measures China has adopted in response to the global financial crisis.

(Xinhua News Agency March 31, 2009)