Representatives of the 21st Century Committee for China-Japan Friendship attend the press conference in Beijing, capital of China, January 28, 2008. The 7th meeting of the new 21st Century Committee for China-Japan Friendship closed inBeijing on Monday. 

Policy consultants of China and Japan agreed on Monday that the relations between the two countries face new historic opportunities for greater development.

Policy consultants from both countries said after the 7th meeting of the new 21st Century Committee for China-Japan Friendship, which closed Monday morning, that the two countries should seize the opportunities to continuously consolidate and expand the momentum of the development of bilateral relations.

The two-day meeting focused on how to implement the consensus reached during Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's China visit last month and on Chinese President Hu Jintao's upcoming trip to Japan.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi (R) meets with a representative of the new 21st Century Committee for China-Japan Friendship in Beijing, capital of China, January 28, 2008. 

Members to the meeting exchanged views in depth on the long-term and strategic issues between the two countries, and gave advices on the development of China-Japan relations.

Zheng Bijian, chief Chinese member of the new 21st Century Committee for China-Japan Friendship, and his Japanese counterpart Yotaro Kobayashi lead members of the two sides to attend the meeting.

The new 21st Century Committee for China-Japan Friendship is a policy consultation organization for the two governments. Its goal is to bring together intellectuals from both sides to study relations from a broad political, economic, cultural, scientific and technological perspective, and make proposals to both governments.

The committee has held six meetings since its inception in July 2003, based on the consensus of the leaders of the two countries.

Yotaro Kobayashi, chief Japanese member of the 21st Century Committee for China-Japan Friendship, speaks during the press conference in Beijing, capital of China, January 28, 2008. The 7th meeting of the new 21st Century Committee for China-Japan Friendship closed in Beijing on Monday.

(Xinhua News Agency January 29, 2008)