Chinese President Hu Jintao

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.

"We basically take his comment positively as a reflection on the importance of relations between Japan and China," Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said June 12.

The two Asian powers haven't had a full summit since 2001. Relations, however, have been slowly improving in recent months.

Foreign Minister Taro Aso and his Chinese counterpart, Li Zhaoxing, met on the sidelines of an Asian economic conference in Doha, Qatar, in May, for the first time in a year. The countries' trade ministers met in Japan in the same month.

On June 6, Tokyo announced that it would resume aid loans to China in light of the thaw in ties.

"Japan will continue to encourage future-oriented relations with China," Abe said. "The Japanese side has its door open and we'd like to welcome President Hu."

A main sticking point between the two countries has been the repeated visits by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.

Despite the recent thaw, the two countries face major hurdles to normal relations.

On June 11, Aso suggested at a meeting in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, that the aid loans could be frozen again if ties deteriorate.

"Whether we will continue depends on how discussions between Japan and China go from now on," the Yomiuri Shimbun quoted him as saying.

On June 8, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said China hopes that relations improve, although there are no plans for Koizumi and Hu to meet on the sidelines of the Group of Eight summit in July.

The Japan Times Weekly: June 17, 2006
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