Before FM’s arrival, China says ties with Japan improving

BEIJING – With Japan’s top diplomat making a rare visit to Beijing later this week, China’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that frequently tense relations with Tokyo have been getting better.

Spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters Wednesday that Fumio Kishida’s visit starting Friday comes as ties “have shown signs of improvement, yet in the meantime are still facing challenges.”

“We hope Japan can meet China halfway … properly deal with the issues and make concrete contributions to the sound and steady development of the bilateral relationship,” Hua said at a regularly scheduled news briefing.

Kishida is due to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and other officials for talks on bilateral relations and other issues of common concern, Hua said.

Many Chinese believe Japan has yet to truly atone for its brutal World War II invasion of much of China. High-level exchanges have been largely frozen since Japan nationalized a string of uninhabited East China Sea islands claimed by China in 2012, setting off violent anti-Japanese protests in several Chinese cities.