On October 8, Wu Bangguo, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the Great Hall of the People.

Wu said China and Japan are big nations and also neighbors. "You can choose friends but cannot choose neighbors." So, to develop good neighborly ties and friendly cooperation is the only choice that conforms to the fundamental interests of the two peoples, which meanwhile benefits peace, stability and development in Asia and the whole world as well. Wu urged the two countries to look at bilateral relations in a long-term and strategic perspective. The two sides should continue to "take history as a mirror and look into the future," abide by the principles set in the three Sino-Japanese political documents, and steer the direction of bilateral relations and settle history problems and the Taiwan question properly, he said.

Wu said the non-governmental friendship between the two countries has been an important guarantee for the development of bilateral relations and it has played an important linking role for the improvement and development of Sino-Japanese ties in different historical periods after the World War II. He hopes China and Japan will promote exchanges in non-governmental and cultural fields and the exchanges between youths so as to increase friendly feelings between the two peoples. Wu said the NPC has established a regular exchange mechanism with its Japanese counterpart and he hopes this channel can play its due role in promoting bilateral good-neighborly relations and friendly cooperation.

Abe said to promote the understanding and trust between the peoples of the two countries and increase their friendly feelings is the foundation for bilateral relations and the Japanese side is glad to see frequent exchanges between the parliamentary organizations of the two countries. The Japanese side hopes to take the 35th anniversary of the normalization of the Sino-Japanese ties as an opportunity to promote bilateral exchanges in all areas, build up understanding between the two peoples and push bilateral relations to a higher level, Abe said.