Increased military exchanges between China and Japan will help ensure the stable development of bilateral relations, said Yang Yi, director of the Institute of Strategy of China's National University of Defense.

The Sino-Japanese relationship is very important and is of regional or even global significance, the Beijing-based China News Service quoted Yang as saying on Sunday.

Yang, who recently led a delegation of Chinese Army officers, scholars and officials on a visit to Japan, urged Japan to face up to the war crimes it committed during World War II. The development of bilateral ties must be promoted by the leaders of the two countries but must also be supported by the two peoples, he noted.

Yang said China will maintain a defensive military strategy, stressing that the development of China's military force will never threaten other countries, including Japan.

Source: Xinhua