China's top legislator meets Japanese PM

BEIJING, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislator Wu Bangguo and visiting Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda vowed to enhance exchanges between parliaments and in other fields during their meeting on Monday.

Speaking highly of the "important role" of the regular exchange mechanisms between China's National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Diet of Japan in promoting the improvement of China-Japan relations, Wu said the two sides should continue to make full use of these platforms.

With these platforms, the two sides could strengthen exchanges and dialogues on each other's domestic and foreign policies, development paths and other issues of common concern, so as to promote mutual understanding and trust, and to spur more statesmen, especially the younger ones, to pay attention to, and support the development of, China-Japan relations, said Wu, chairman of the Standing Committee of NPC, China's top legislative body.

Noda echoed Wu, saying the Japanese side was ready to join hands with the Chinese side to take next year's 40th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties as an opportunity to further strengthen friendly exchanges between governments, political parties, parliaments, localities and young people, so as to promote the development of bilateral ties.