Japanese Prime Minister and ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) President Shinzo Abe said Japan is ready to jointly promote the continuous improvement and development of Japan-China relations. 

He made the remarks in a meeting with Song Tao, head of the International Liaison Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in Tokyo on Thursday.

Abe said that the exchanges between the ruling parties of Japan and China are crucial to the development of bilateral relations. Japan is willing to further close inter-party exchanges with China and strengthen political mutual trust, he added.

Song said that the recent meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Abe confirmed the principles and direction for the development of bilateral relations. 

He said the eighth meeting of China-Japan ruling party exchanges mechanism held in Japan is to implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, further exert the political leading role of inter-party exchanges on China-Japan relations, and safeguard the political foundation for the development of bilateral relations, constructively manage and control differences, and jointly promote the pragmatic cooperation between the two countries under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.