Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe played an active and constructive role in developing China-Japan ties, which have seen tangible improvement thanks to the efforts made by both the governments and people from all walks of life.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu made the remarks when commenting on Abe's resignation.

Further development of bilateral ties is in the fundamental interests of the two nations and two peoples and the development momentum of bilateral ties will see continuous growth, she said.