Japan has asked China to arrange a visit by Prime Minister Zhu Rongji to Japan before the Group of Eight summit in Okinawa in July, Japanese Ambassador to China Sakutaro Tanino said in a recent interview.
"We have on several occasions conveyed to the Chinese our wish that Zhu visit," Tanino said. "It is natural for Prime Minister (Keizo) Obuchi to want to realize Zhu's visit before the Okinawa summit so that more Asian viewpoints can be reflected (at the G8 summit)."
From July 21 to 23, Japan is to chair the summit meeting of the G8 -- the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia -- in the city of Nago, Okinawa.