China and Japan vowed to promote cultural and people-to-people exchanges in such areas as culture, tourism, education and sports, as the two countries were holding a high-level consultation mechanism to level up their non-governmental cooperation.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi hosted the meeting in Tokyo on Monday. They read congratulatory messages from leaders of both countries.

In his letter, Chinese President Xi Jinping noted that bilateral relations are continuously improving, and the two sides should make good use of the mechanism to further foster understanding between the two peoples.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in his letter, said the high-level consultation mechanism fits the needs of the new era and contributes to opening up a new future for bilateral ties.

In the meeting, Wang stressed that the establishment of a high-level consultation mechanism on people-to-people exchanges between the two countries is an important consensus reached by the two leaders during the G20 summit in Osaka in June.

The cultural and people-to-people exchanges are deeply rooted and accumulate a unique blend of cultures, forming a strong bond between the two peoples and an inexhaustible driving force for the development of bilateral relations, he said.

He added China hopes to strengthen overall planning with Japan to expand personnel exchanges further and enrich cultural exchanges, which benefits the long-term development of the bilateral ties.

Motegi echoed his Chinese counterpart, saying over the past 2,000 years, the non-governmental exchanges have been playing an important role in enhancing mutual understanding between the two peoples and become an indispensable basis for the long-term development of bilateral relations.

He called on the two sides to give full play to the role of the high-level consultation mechanism on people-to-people exchanges, actively carry out such exchanges and cooperation in culture, sports, and tourism to push for greater development of people-to-people and cultural exchanges in the new era.

The two countries reached consensus on a wide range of issues, including culture, tourism, education, and sports, media, film and television, local, youth, and women. They also decided to designate the year of 2020 as the "China-Japan Cultural and Sports Exchange Promotion Year".