China and Japan agreed on Friday to continue to work on improving bilateral ties, as the two countries held a new round of security talks in Beijing.

The warming bilateral ties came as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visited China last October.

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Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou and Japanese Senior Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Takeo Mori hosted the 16th round of the security dialogue.

The two sides agreed that the diplomatic relations had returned to the right track and made positive developments after joint efforts last year, and both sides should take the opportunity to improve the relationship this year, according to a statement after Friday's meeting.  

The two sides exchanged views on bilateral relations, defense security policies of the two countries as well as global and international issues of common concern.

They agreed to improve high-level dialogue mechanism and political trust and to manage differences in order to build constructive relations in the security field.

They also agreed to enhance economic cooperation and non-governmental communication. 

(Top image: Delegates from China and Japan discuss bilateral security issues at a meeting in Beijing, February 1, 2019. /Kyodo Photo)