Chinese government heavyweight Hu Yaobang told Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone in 1983 that he would not oppose an "appropriate enhancement" of Japan's defense capabilities, newly declassified records showed Thursday, underscoring the leading Chinese official's conciliatory stance toward the then-Japanese leader.

At the time of Hu's visit to Japan and meeting with Nakasone in November 1983, Japan had stepped up economic support to China, centering on yen loans, after the countries signed a peace and friendship treaty in 1978.

Hu's stance also apparently reflected an overwhelming power gap between Japan and China at the time. Hu, who was general secretary of China's Communist Party for much of the 1980s under the rule of paramount leader Deng Xiaoping, was known for being reform-minded and friendly toward Japan.