BEIJING - Vice premier Wang Yang met with a delegation of the Japanese Association for the Promotion of International Trade, headed by Kono Yohei, the association's head and former House of Representatives Speaker.

China and Japan are two countries with great influence and they enjoy broad common interests, Wang said during the meeting Tuesday, adding that cooperation benefits both, while confrontation can only hurt.

He noted that maintaining healthy and stable development of China-Japan relations conforms to the interests of the two countries as well as the two peoples.

China is willing to work with Japan to further promote the two sides' strategic relationship of mutual benefit under the various principles in the four political documents between the two countries.

Wang also voiced willingness to continuously promote the construction of a free trade zone among China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, and properly handle differences with an open mind so as to achieve success in the near future.

Yohei said the association is willing to help improve the two countries' relations, enhance communication from a local level and strengthen cooperation in various fields, including food security, promoting construction of the China-Japan-ROK free trade zone and developing third-country markets with China.