A senior Chinese official on Friday urged the Japanese to "correctly recognize and respect history" and develop friendship between the two countries.

Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), told a group of Democratic Party members of the Japanese House of Representatives led by Shoichi Kondo that China has always advocated taking history as a mirror and looking to the future in developing bilateral relations with Japan.

Both Chinese and Japanese officials admit that there are obstacles to be overcome in developing political ties between the two neighbors, although their economic relations have grown remarkably.

China-Japan trade hit 133 billion US dollars last year and is expected to reach 160 billion US dollars this year. Two-way trade grew 28.6 percent in the first half of the year to 78 billion US dollars, making Japan the second largest trading partner of China after the European Union.

But the visit to the Yasukuni Shrine by a Japanese leader has been seen as defiant to history. China strongly opposes any visit to the shrine by Japanese leaders, as it honors 14 Class-A World War II criminals, including Hideki Tojo (1884-1948), Japanese general and prime minister from 1941 to 1944, along with Japanese war dead since the mid-19th century.

A number of Japanese delegations of parliament and political parties have come to visit China over the past few weeks. Earlier this week, Speaker Kono Yohei of the Japanese House of Representatives visited China and was met by President Hu Jintao and a few other top Chinese leaders.

Hu told Kono on Wednesday that to advance bilateral relations both China and Japan should learn from history and look to the future in the spirit of the three political documents signed between the two countries.

Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), told Kono that "only by correctly treating historical facts can historical tragedy be prevented from happening again."

At Friday's meeting, Jia also urged young statesmen of both countries to increase exchange, describing it as of "significant importance" to future Sino-Japanese relationship.

Shoichi Kondo said members of his delegation have felt strongly during the visit the importance of the political and economic relations between Japan and China. Good friendly relations between Japan and China would help not only the two countries but also contribute tremendously to peace and development of the whole of Asia as well, he noted.