A long-established panel of experts on China-Japan relations on Wednesday held a formal meeting for the first time in more than three years, amid signs of easing political tensions between the two countries. Their discussions in Beijing materialised after Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held their first meeting last month since they both took power two years ago and agreed the two Asian powers would resume various high-level talks. Former State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan, who represents the Chinese side of the joint committee, said the two countries had taken ”the first important step toward improving relations”. But Tang did not forget to remind those at the meeting that next year would mark the 70th anniversary of “the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japan”, and called on Japanese leaders to prevent the revival of militarism by upholding the country’s past apologies for its wartime actions. The meeting between the two top leaders has merely provided an opportunity to improve relations. There remain numerous problems between Japan and China Taizo Nishimuro, Japan Post Holdings president Japan Post Holdings President Taizo Nishimuro expressed hope of having two days of lively discussions in Beijing with members of the committee, including scholars and former diplomats. “The meeting between the two top leaders has merely provided an opportunity to improve relations. There remain numerous problems between Japan and China,” said Nishimuro, who heads the Japanese delegation. The New Japan-China Friendship Committee for the 21st Century, an advisory body to the two governments, is expected to come up with a set of proposals for improved ties. Japan-China relations had been in a deep freeze for several years because of disagreements over the ownership of the Diaoyu, or Senkaku, Islands and wartime historical issues. One of the major points agreed between Abe and Xi was the acceleration of negotiations between senior officials towards setting up a mechanism to ease maritime tensions in the East China Sea, where the Japan-controlled, China-claimed uninhabited islands are located. Still, as Xi’s awkward, unsmiling handshake with Abe on November 10 reflected, many experts argue it will not be easy to realise a quick repair of the soured relations, given especially that next year will be the 70th anniversary of the end of the second world war. It is less likely that China – where bitter memories of Japan’s past militarism still run deep – will show a markedly soft stance toward Abe’s government in the politically sensitive year. Until October 2011, when the last formal gathering took place, sessions of the committee convened regularly in Japan and China, sometimes more than once a year. The committee’s history dates back to 1984 after an agreement between then Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone and then Communist Party Secretary General Hu Yaobang to further develop ties in various fields.