Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda in Honolulu, Hawaii, November 12, 2011. [Photo/Xinhua]

HONOLULU, United Sates - Chinese President Hu Jintao met Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Saturday in Honolulu, Hawaii, to exchange views on bilateral relations and issues of common concern.

This is the first formal meeting between the two leaders since Noda was elected as Japanese prime minister in August this year. Earlier this month, both of the two leaders attended a summit of the Group of Twenty major economies in Cannes, France.

Noting that Noda has vowed on several occasions to promote the Japan-China relationship, Hu said that he is ready to work together with Noda and explore ways to boost bilateral ties.

For his part, Noda said that the two sides need to take the overall situation into account and steadily enhance the Japan-China relationship.

Japan is an important neighbor of China. The China-Japan relationship is one of the most important bilateral relationships for both sides.

The year of 2012 marks the 40th anniversary of the normalization of China-Japan diplomatic relations. In the past 39 years, the China-Japan relationship has developed continuously despite some ups and downs.

The two countries have maintained close political contact and scored steady progress in bilateral economic and trade cooperation as well as in the exchange of visitors.

Japan is China's major trading partner. In 2010, bilateral trade stood at 297 billion U.S. dollars. In the first nine months of this year, the bilateral trade volume hit 253 billion dollars.

According to statistics released by Japan, China overtook the Unites States to become the largest destination of Japan's exports for the first time in 2009.

Hu and Noda met on the sidelines of the Economic Leaders' Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.