SINGAPORE, June 4 (Xinhua) -- China on Saturday urged Japan to respect China's major interests and concerns, and not to intervene in or hype up the South China Sea issue.

The call came as Chinese Admiral Sun Jianguo met with Japan's Vice Minister of Defense for International Affairs Toru Mimura here on the sidelines of the 15th Shangri-La Dialogue.

Sun, deputy chief of the Joint Staff Department of China's Central Military Commission, reaffirmed China's stance on the South China Sea, asking Japan to be prudent and take tangible actions to keep the improving momentum of the bilateral ties.

China attaches importance to the ties with Japan and would like to promote mutual understanding through dialogue and communication so as to manage and bridge differences, he said.

Echoing Sun on bilateral ties, Toru Mimura said Japan-China relationship is one of the most important bilateral ties for Japan.

Dialogue and communication between the two countries helps to boost mutual understanding, improve bilateral ties as well as maintain international and regional peace and prosperity, the Japanese official said.

On the same day, the Chinese admiral also met with Swiss Minister of Defense Guy Parmelin on cooperation.