Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is considering visiting China in early September in a bid to repair strained bilateral ties, a government source said Saturday.

Abe is exploring the possibility of traveling either before or after a ceremony in Beijing slated for Sept. 3 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, the source said, adding that he will likely skip the event itself.

China has extended an official invitation to Abe to attend the event marking Beijing's victory in what it calls "the war of resistance against Japanese aggression," but has yet to receive the Japanese leader's response, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping said Friday during a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.