Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday that China is planning to hold a trilateral summit with Japan and South Korea next month in the southern city of Chengdu, according to a senior Japanese government official.

The summit, held annually on a rotating basis by Tokyo, Beijing and Seoul, has occasionally been suspended during periods when relations between Japan and its two neighbors have chilled due to historical and territorial disputes, and when there has been political turmoil in South Korea.

Li's remarks came amid lingering concern over whether the three East Asian nations would be able to set a date for the summit this year, with ties between Japan and South Korea frayed by a dispute over wartime compensation and trade.