New | China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi in Tokyo to pave way for summit with Japan

China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi held talks with the head of Japan's National Security Council on Tuesday, paving the way to resume a long-halted trilateral summit between the two countries and South Korea.

Visiting Japan for the first time in his capacity as State Councillor, Yang will also meet Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday.

The two nations' slowly thawing relations have hit a rough patch in recent months.

At the onset of the meeting in Tokyo yesterday, Shotaro Yachi, senior national security adviser to Abe, said bilateral relations were "improving" and he was eager to develop friendly ties despite "problems" such as the situation in the East China Sea.

Yang, who outranks the foreign minister, said he wanted to play "an active role to improve" bilateral relations.

Despite growing economic dependency, tensions between the two countries have in recent years escalated over historical issues and a sovereignty dispute over an East China Sea island chain, which China calls Diaoyu and Japan, Senkaku.