China hopes to further strengthen defense cooperation with Japan to promote mutual understanding and trust, said a senior officer of the People's Liberation Army on Wednesday.

Xu Caihou, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks here in a meeting with a delegation of the Sasakawa Japan-China Friendship Fund, led by Sasakawa Yohei, chairman of the Nippon Foundation, a non-governmental Japanese organization for international development.

Xu said history proved that cooperation between China and Japan had been mutually beneficial.

Sasakawa agreed, saying greater bilateral defense cooperation would play an important role in promoting development of bilateral relations and enhancing exchanges and cooperation.

He said Japan is willing to work with China to strengthen their friendship and to maintain peace and stability in east Asia.

Xu said the Chinese government has always pursued a friendly policy towards Japan, and seen the improvement and development of bilateral relations as highly important, despite some difficulties in political relations.

He said China is ready to work for peaceful coexistence, friendship, cooperation and common development on the basis of the principles set in agreements between the two countries, and in the spirit of "taking history as a mirror and looking forward to the future".

The delegation is invited by the China Institute for International Strategic Studies.

Source: Xinhua