KYODO NEWS - Jul 5, 2018 - 20:41 | World, All

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Thursday acknowledged that it has invited Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to visit China.

"Certainly, China has already invited Prime Minister Abe. He is expected to visit China at a convenient time for both countries," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters.

His remarks came after Kyodo News reported Wednesday that Abe would visit China for talks with President Xi Jinping, possibly in October, should he be re-elected in his ruling party's leadership race in September.

"We want to create an atmosphere to make (Abe's visit to China) positive" for the two nations, Lu added.

Relations between China and Japan have been improving recently, as this year marks the 40th anniversary of the signing of a friendship treaty between the two countries.

When Abe met Chinese Premier Li Keqiang bilaterally in Tokyo on the sidelines of a trilateral summit with South Korea, the Japanese leader expressed a desire to visit China by the end of this year.

The last official visit of a Japanese prime minister to China, excluding attendance at an international conference, was made in December 2011 by then Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.