The dialogue is a big boost to the two countries' economic ties and is seen as one of the highlights of Wen's three-day visit to Japan.

Wen and Abe co-chaired the inaugural economic dialogue at Japanese Foreign Ministry's Iikura guesthouse and agreed to hold its first session in Beijing later this year.

Wen said the dialogue is to create a forum for the two sides to exchange their economic development strategy and macro-economic policy and enhance mutual understanding.

The move is aimed at coordinating and pushing forward cooperation in the key economic fields of energy, the environment, finance, hi-tech, communication and intellectual property right (IPR) protection, he said.

It will serve as a platform for the two countries to exchange policies on regional and international economic issues and help expand cooperation in wider sectors.

The dialogue is a key mechanism, Wen said, for building strategic and mutually beneficial ties between China and Japan, and it complements already established cooperative mechanisms.

Abe corroborated Wen and underscored the two countries' dependence on each other's economy, calling the dialogue a "new step forward in Japan-China economic ties",

Abe said the two sides have the responsibility of helping resolve global issues, such as climate change, IPR and the WTO's Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations.

There is a need for the top economic leaders of both countries to personally meet and frankly talk to deal with those issues properly.