Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe scored an unexpected and notable success by visiting China just days after he replaced Junichiro Koizumi. The test now is whether he can maintain his promise of a new relationship with Beijing, or whether hopes may be derailed by his own, sometimes knee-jerk, nationalist policies.
The new prime minister had clearly put relations with China at the top of his agenda. But even his supporters were surprised at the timing of the Beijing visit, only 12 days after taking over from Mr Koizumi.
China's leaders saw the summit as something special. President Hu Jintao spoke of the meeting as a 'turning point'; Premier Wen Jiabao saw it as a 'window of hope'. Reporting afterwards, the official media was, by its standards, effusive.
Xinhua talked of Mr Abe's visit as leading to a 'thaw of the deadlocked China-Japan political relationship', calling it an 'ice-breaking visit'. It also quoted the China Youth Daily, which reported predictions by 'experts' that Sino-Japanese relations would 'shine brightly after the gloom'.
Despite such glowing reviews, it is hard to point to any obvious ice-breaking or turning-point moment, let alone to see the light shining from a window of hope.
The visit produced the usual cheesy smiles and handshakes, and bland promises of goodwill.