China and Japan must strengthen communication and coordination in order to stop the transnational spread of the novel coronavirus and maintain public health safety in both countries and the region, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday.

He made the remarks in a phone conversation with Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Wednesday night.

Both China and Japan are major world economies, Wang said, and maintaining normal bilateral economic and trade cooperation makes an important contribution to the stable development of the global economy.

Wang called on the two sides to ensure the stability of industrial chains and supply chains on both sides to reduce the epidemic’s impact on pragmatic cooperation.

Faced with the epidemic, China and Japan are community with a shared future in the same boat, Wang said.

China appreciated that Japan has been firmly standing with China from the very beginning and thanked the country for the support and help from the Japanese government and society, he said.

According to Wang, China is paying close attention to the epidemic in Japan and is willing to continue to provide assistance according to the Japanese side’s needs.

He suggested the two sides further strengthen communication between related departments and experts, and keep close cooperation in areas like epidemic control, medical treatment and vaccine development. The two sides can actively discuss global public health cooperation under multilateral frameworks, he said.

Wang also said China believes Japan has the capability and conditions to effectively contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, and wished for the success of the Tokyo Olympics as scheduled.

Motegi briefed Wang on the latest epidemic situation in Japan, saying the next two weeks are of critical importance for preventing the epidemic’s spread.

Japan hopes the two sides will continue to share information and strengthen communication and cooperation, he said.