Chinese envoy Li Xiaolin and Japanese PM Shinzo Abe meet amid strained ties
Contact aimed at helping to secure summit between China and Japan's leaders, say analysts
A senior Chinese official known for her close ties with President Xi Jinping briefly met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the top government spokesman in Tokyo said yesterday.
Abe's meeting with Li Xiaolin, the youngest daughter of former president Li Xiannian who has known Xi since childhood, comes as the Japanese leader looks for his first summit with Xi to repair ties between China and Japan strained by territorial disputes and arguments over Japan's alleged lack of atonement for its wartime past.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Li and Abe met at a cultural event, adding that the two countries should step up cultural exchanges to improve Japan-China relations.
Li, president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, is also scheduled during her trip to Japan to attend a series of other events and meetings with the theme of friendship between the two countries.
Abe is hoping to meet Xi on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum's summit in Beijing next month.
Abe said during a parliamentary session yesterday that China was becoming more positive about improving relations with Japan.