国内英语新闻:China's top legislator vows to enhance exchanges with National Diet of Japan

BEIJING, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislator Li Zhanshu on Monday met with a delegation consisting of several members of Japan's House of Councillors, pledging to enhance the exchanges and cooperation with the National Diet of Japan, so as to promote Sino-Japanese relationship.

Li, chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, said there are important opportunities facing the two countries this year for further improvement and development of bilateral ties, as China-Japan relations were led back to the right track of development after Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met three times last year and reached important consensus.

"The two sides should implement the consensus of the leaders of the two countries, enhance mutual trust over strategic security, expand pragmatic cooperation in such areas as the economy, culture and exchanges between the young people," said Li.

Ninoyu Satoshi, head of the delegation and a member of Japan's House of Councillors, said the National Diet of Japan would like to reinforce contacts and mutual understanding with the National People's Congress of China and make more contributions to the two countries' neighborly friendliness.

The delegation was in Beijing to attend the eighth meeting of the mechanism for regular exchanges between China's top legislature and the upper house of the National Diet of Japan.