BEIJING, June 18 (Xinhua) -- The joint development understanding reached by China and Japan over the East China Sea was a mutually beneficial and win-win deal, said Liu Nanlai, research fellow with the law institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, on Wednesday.

    "The deal eases the disputes and stabilizes the situation over the East China Sea, turning conflict into cooperation, challenges into opportunities, and furthering bilateral relations," said Liu in a story published on a website run by the Global Times.

    If joint exploration could discover oil and gas resources of commercial value, it will bring solid benefits to the two countries and the two peoples, he said.

    Properly handling complicated issues such as the East China Seadispute through negotiations will increase mutual trust and promote reciprocal cooperation on energy, environmental protection and other areas, he said.

    "We should see 'the first step on joint exploration' as only 'a transitional arrangement', and the stances of the two sides remain unchanged," Liu said.

    The two sides still need to narrow their differences through negotiations and create conditions for the final solution of the East China Sea dispute, he said.