The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) Secretary General Katsuya Okada said Wednesday that the DPJ will continue to advance Japan-China relations after taking the reins of government.

Okada made the remarks at a symposium to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China following the DPJ's landslide victory over the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in the lower house election Sunday.

"The DPJ has, as always, attached great importance to Japan- China relations and will invariably further promote bilateral relations after assuming power," said Okada.

Extending his heartfelt congratulations on the anniversary, Okada said that since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Chinese people, with their wisdom and hard work, has surmounted a multitude of difficulties and achieved the eye- catching success.

On Japan's ties with China and the United States, Okada said that it is pointless to debate whether China or the United States to choose as China and the United States are both of great importance to Japan.

"But Asia is having an increasingly strong presence in the international community, the 21st century will thus be Asia's century," he said, expressing his hope that Japan and China will foster win-win relations.

Okada said that the two nations need strengthen economic cooperation and keep closer contacts and communications with each other in a joint effort to exert greater influence in the international community.

The symposium, co-hosted by the Information Office of the State Council of China and Nihon Keizai Shimbun with the assistance of Nippon Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), was aimed at presenting economic, cultural and social changes that have taken place since the founding of the People's Republic of China and offering an outlook for the development of Japan-China relations.

(Xinhua News Agency September 2, 2009)