Japan's neighbors, including China, South Korea and Russia, voiced eagerness Wednesday to work to improve their ties with Tokyo, after Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga took office to succeed former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, regarded as a hawkish conservative.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a congratulatory message to Suga that Beijing and Tokyo should "promote the construction of a relationship that is suitable for the new era," according to the People's Daily, the Communist Party's mouthpiece.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters that Beijing would "promote development of relations" with Japan by "strengthening exchanges and cooperation" in various fields, with China's tensions with the United States escalating.