Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Thursday it was important to take bilateral relations in a positive direction as the two leaders marked 50 years of normalised diplomatic ties amid rising tensions.
In a phone call, Xi told Kishida that he attached "great importance" to the development of China-Japan relations and that he was willing to work with his Japanese counterpart to build the relationship, Chinese state television CCTV reported.
