BEIJING -- Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang urged here on Thursday to remove the political obstacles that have "influenced normal development" of China-Japan relations.

China is willing to work with Japan to put the China-Japan relations back to the track of healthy development as soon as possible, said Qin at a regular press conference when responding to a journalist's question, adding that the task of top priority at the present stage is to remove the political obstacles that have influenced the resumption and normal development of bilateral relations.

Qin noted that China has always attached great importance to the relations with Japan and is willing to develop neighborly cooperation with Japan in line with the principle of taking history as a mirror and looking into the future and based on the three Sino-Japanese political documents.

He said China will strive for peaceful coexistence, friendship from generation to generation between the two countries, cooperation on the basis of mutual benefits and common development.

Referring to China-Japan military exchanges, Qin said China attaches great importance to the exchanges and cooperation with Japan in various fields.