Tokyo was urged to "play a constructive role" and make real efforts to stabilize bilateral relations with Beijing when Premier Li Keqiang met with the visiting Japanese national security adviser on Thursday.

China and Japan should accumulate positive factors and reduce negative ones to get the still-fragile bilateral ties back on a normal track, Li told Shotaro Yachi, who is attending the third China-Japan High-level Political Dialogue in Beijing.

"As next year marks the 45th anniversary of China and Japan normalizing their diplomatic ties, ... I hope the two countries can take the opportunity to appropriately tackle old and emerging disputes, manage conflicts and differences, and steadily promote exchanges and cooperation to safeguard the improving process of bilateral ties," Li said.