Beijing, March 25th—Zhao Shitong, Assistant-minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, met here today on the afternoon with a delegation led by Kazuyuki Hamada, former member of House of Councillors of the National Diet of Japan and President of Japan-China Belt and Road Initiative Promotion Association. 

Zhao said, last November, President Xi Jinping met with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Lima and agreed to comprehensively promote China-Japan strategic relationship of mutual benefit, charting the course for the development of China-Japan relations. China will further deepen reform in an all-round way and firmly promote high-level opening up, which will provide more opportunities for China-Japan cooperation. It is hoped that the business communities of China and Japan will implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, strengthen dialogue and exchanges, advance practical cooperation in various fields, and promote peace, stability and prosperity in Asia and the world at large. 

Hamada said, efforts of Japan and China in strengthening bilateral cooperation are conducive to the healthy development of bilateral relations and world peace and stability. Japan-China Belt and Road Initiative Promotion Association is willing to work with the Chinese side to promote cooperation in various fields between the two countries and third-party markets, and contribute to the two countries' joint response to global challenges.