Shinzo Abe confirmed Wednesday his plans to visit China this year in what would be the first trip to the country by a Japanese prime minister since 2011, the latest sign of warmer ties between the two rivals.
"I intend to visit China this year, the year in which we commemorate the 40th anniversary of the conclusion of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and China," Abe said in a speech at an economic forum in the far eastern Russian city of Vladivostok.
"After that, I very much wish to invite President Xi to Japan," said Abe, speaking after meeting China's leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the forum. "Through this exchange of visits at the leaders' level, I hope to raise Japan-China relations to a new stage. I am firmly determined in this regard."
Abe praised his meeting with Xi, saying they held "highly significant talks regarding Japan-China relations and the various issues that we face together."