Japan-China summit very significant: spokesman

The summit meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Chinese President Hu Jintao on Saturday was very significant, a top Japanese government spokesman said Monday.

"It is of great significance that the two leaders agreed to comprehensively promote the future-oriented cooperative relations," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda told a press conference, referring to the summit on Saturday on the sidelines of the Asian-African summit in Jakarta.

Hosoda said to strengthen and develop bilateral relations is important for the Asian countries and the international community at large.

The top spokesman also stressed the importance of solving long-standing disputes between the two countries through dialogue.

In Saturday's talks, Hu initiated five proposals on developing the Sino-Japanese relations and urged Japan to seriously reflect over its wartime history and properly handle the current difficult situation in the Sino-Japanese relations.

Koizumi recognized the importance of bilateral relations, saying Japan will take vigorous actions to promote the ties in the spirit of President Hu's five proposals.