President Xi congratulates new Japanese PM Ishiba

President Xi Jinping has extended congratulations to Shigeru Ishiba on his election as Japanese prime minister.

Ishiba, the new leader of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, was officially elected as the country's prime minister on Tuesday after he won a majority of votes in both houses of parliament.

In a congratulatory message sent on Tuesday, Xi noted that China and Japan are close neighbors separated only by a strip of water. He said it serves the fundamental interests of the two peoples to stride on a path of peaceful coexistence, everlasting friendship, mutually beneficial cooperation and common development.

Xi called on Tokyo to work with Beijing toward the same goal and "faithfully honor the principles and consensus established in the four political documents between the two countries".

He expressed the hope that Japan can work together with China to advance the strategic relationship of mutual benefit in an all-around manner and build a constructive and stable Sino-Japanese relationship that meets the requirements of the new era.

Also on Tuesday, Premier Li Qiang sent a congratulatory message to Ishiba. Li said the two countries should work to secure the political foundation of bilateral relations and enhance friendship, mutual trust and cooperation, in order to better benefit the two peoples.

Currently, Japan is China's second-largest trading partner. The annual bilateral trade between the two countries totaled about $318 billion last year, according to the General Administration of Customs.

Wu Jianghao, China's ambassador to Japan, said the two sides have seen a marked increase in dialogue and exchanges at various levels, have deepened practical cooperation in different fields, and have seen people-to-people exchanges gradually recovering to the level before the COVID-19 pandemic.

China-Japan relations are still facing a fair number of difficulties and challenges, which "require both sides to show their wisdom and commitment", Wu said at a recent reception in Tokyo, adding that the two sides should work together to find ways to manage and solve problems, in order to maintain the right direction in their relationship.