Beijing and Tokyo should accumulate positive factors, push bilateral ties back on track for normal development at an early date and create a proper atmosphere for high-level exchanges in between, a spokesman has said.

Wang Guoqing, spokesman for the first session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, made the remarks in response to a media question about the relationship between China and Japan at a news conference Friday in Beijing.

Recently, the Japanese side has issued some positive signals regarding its relationship with China, and China-Japan ties have showed some promising signals, the spokesman said.

It is hoped that the two sides could cherish this momentum with great care, grab the enabling opportunity and work on the basis of the four key bilateral political documents and the four-point principled consensus, Wang said.

Speaking on the repeated ups and downs of the relationship, the spokesman said the root cause lies in the fact that the Japanese government repeatedly betrayed its commitment regarding historical issues and the fact that some Japanese politicians take China as Japan's strategic rival.

It is unlikely for a country to win respect if it has no courage to face up to history, and it is unlikely for a country to find a way out if it persists in viewing its neighbors as strategic rivals, Wang said.