Shelving disputes and engaging in joint development is the sole correct choice for China and Japan in addressing the East China Sea issue, Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan said during a recent meeting with Japan's Kyodo News Service president Toyohiko Yamanouchi.

Tang expressed the hope during the meeting with Yamanouchi Tuesday that the two countries could narrow their differences on the issue through dialogue and consultations.

"China and Japan have disputes on boundary demarcations in the East China Sea, and this is an objective reality," Tang said, adding that China always maintained to resolve the disputes through negotiation.

The Japanese government Wednesday initiated procedures to grant Japanese firms the right to conduct test drilling for potential gas and oil fields to the east of the so called "demarcation line" in the East China Sea.

Any unilateral action like this would make the situation more complex and acute and even lead to a fundamentally change in the nature of the issue, said Tang.

Nevertheless, Tang said he was still convinced that cooperation with mutual benefits could be achieved provided both sides treat and handle the issue proceeding from an overall perspective.

"Challenges can be transformed into opportunities and mutual cooperation will be materialized, so that the East China Sea will be turned truly into a sea of friendship, and a sea of cooperation instead of a sea of conflicts," Tang said.