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The two countries are in a territorial dispute over the Diaoyu islands. [Xinhua]
A bid to boost economic and business relations would benefit both China and Japan, as well as the global economy, said Ma Jiantang, chief of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
He was addressing a question during a press conference while releasing the economic statistics of 2012 for China.
Bilateral trade slumped 3.9 per cent year on year to 329.45 billion US dollars last year.
Japan has dropped from being China’s fourth-largest trade partner to fifth place, Jiantang revealed.
China has overtaken the US in becoming the largest trading partner of most countries in the world.
Jiantang reiterated his call for healthy Sino-Japanese trade ties, adding that normalising ties would aid both the countries.
Bilateral relations worsened last year due to a territorial dispute over the Diaoyu Islands.
Source: Agencies
