Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi File photo: Xinhua

Senior government officials from China and Japan agreed to push economic, trade and investment cooperation between the two countries, including promoting the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), according to an article published on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

According to the article, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a telephone call with Japanese Foreign Minister ToshimitsuMotegi on Wednesday, with Wang stressing that the two countries should actively arrange and push "post-coronavirus" cooperation. 

Wang urged that China and Japan should try to restore and expand mutual cooperation. According to Wang, China welcomes Japan to grasp China's development opportunities and deepen collaboration with China. 

He also stressed that China has launched a series of measures to support Japanese companies to resume production and work in China, and in turn hopes Japan could provide a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese firms. 

Wang also said that China and Japan should strengthen cooperation in international and regional affairs, including speeding up the China-Japan-South Korea free trade zone and working to striving to ensure that the RCEP is signed in 2020. 

"We insist the direction of joint efforts to combat coronavirus and oppose any words or deeds to politicize coronavirus or obstruct global fights against coronavirus," Wang noted. 

Motegi also noted that Japan is willing to push economic investment and cooperation with China, while speeding up the RCEP. 

Wang Shaopu, a Japan scholar at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, said that it can be expected that China would be a major business partner for Japan after the countries' society friendship deepened during fight against the coronavirus, and as China's manufacturing capacities and massive labor market provide many opportunities for Japanese investment in China.

"Japan is looking for new partners after the US withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and China is surely an important option for Japan to seek business partnership," he said.