China is closely watching what kind of action the new government in Tokyo will take to improve soured relations, former Chinese State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan told New Komeito leader Natsuo Yamaguchi during his current visit to Beijing.
"No one wishes to see a deterioration in Japan-China relations. (Beijing) is closely monitoring the stance and remarks of the new government, the new Cabinet (of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe) will take" to improve ties strained over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, Tang was quoted by a New Komeito lawmaker as telling Yamaguchi in a meeting Wednesday.
Yamaguchi is carrying a letter from Abe, whose Liberal Democratic Party won the Dec. 16 election and formed a ruling coalition with New Komeito. Yamaguchi is the first senior lawmaker from the new administration to visit China since its launch in late December.