Tokyo welcomed yesterday Chinese President Hu Jintao's (
Japanese newspapers on Sunday reported that Hu told a senior Japanese diplomat that he wanted to visit Tokyo at "an appropriate time" -- a gesture that indicated Beijing's growing willingness to engage with its estranged neighbor.
Positive
"We basically take his comment positively as a reflection on the importance of relations between Japan and China," Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe told reporters yesterday.
The two Asian powers, which have been feuding over their wartime history, territorial disputes and the ownership of underground natural gas deposits, haven't had a full summit since 2001.
Relations, however, have been slowly improving in recent months.
Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso and his Chinese counterpart, Li Zhaoxing (
Aid loans
Last week, Japan announced that it would resume aid loans to China in light of the thaw in ties.
"Japan will continue to encourage future-oriented relations between Japan and China," Abe said. "The Japanese side has its door open, and we'd like to welcome President Hu Jintao. We feel top-level talks should be carried out.''
Despite the recent thaw, the two countries still face major hurdles to normal relations.
Aso suggested at a meeting in Kitakyushu on Sunday that the aid loans to China could be frozen again if ties deteriorate, newspapers said.
"Whether we will continue depends on how discussions between Japan and China would go from now on," the Yomiuri Shimbun quoted him as saying.
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