The recently concluded Belt and Road Forum (BRF) in Beijing has triggered a cycle of diplomacy between China and Japan, which could yield a summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as well as Tokyo’s participation in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

Japan’s Kyodo news agency is reporting that China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi is heading for Japan next month to lay the groundwork for a possible summit between the two leaders.

Mr. Abe told a Japanese television programme on Monday that he hoped to meet Mr. Xi on the sidelines of the Group of 20 leaders’ summit in Germany in July, which both leaders plan to attend. But there are also fresh signals that a dialogue between the two leaders could materialise in their respective capitals.

Unlike India, which boycotted the BRF, the Japanese decided to send a senior delegation, notwithstanding contested sovereignty with China over a set of reefs in the East China Sea.

Mr. Yang’s likely visit to Tokyo has been preceded by the presence in Beijing of Toshihiro Nikai, Secretary-General of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Mr. Nikai, who led a delegation to the BRF, had a 17-minute meeting on Tuesday with President Xi. The interaction concerned “mainly with the possibility of Chinese leaders including (Mr.) Xi visiting Japan and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visiting China,” the Nikkei Asian Review is reporting.

The Japanese representative later told a news conference in Beijing that after his return to Tokyo, the topic would be thoroughly discussed with Mr. Abe. Japan’s possible entry in to the AIIB-the Beijing-led multilateral lender that is likely to fund several projects under the expansive China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)-was also a top topic for discussion during Mr. Nikai’s visit.

Mr. Nikai had told his travelling press pool on Monday that the government will see “how quickly we can reach a decision” on AIIB membership. It is likely that Japan, will hold active consultations with the United States, which has launched a 100-day plan of economic engagement with China, and had sent a senior delegation to the BRF.

On Monday, in an interview with Broadcast Satellite Japan and CNBC of the U.S., Mr. Abe said that Tokyo and Washington would carefully discuss the issue of AIIB membership. “First of all, there remains the issue of whether impartial governance can be established,” he said.

“Secondly, there is the issue of the sustainability of debt servicing on the part of the borrowing countries and whether the societal and environmental impact are duly considered.”

In Beijing, the Global Times is reporting that in his meeting with Mr. Nikai, President Xi said that Tokyo is welcome to discuss cooperation with China under the framework of the BRI. He noted that the BRI can be a new platform for the two countries to achieve mutual development.

The daily quoted Lian Degui, a professor from Shanghai International Studies University as saying that “subtle changes” had emerged in Japan’s policy towards China, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Obama administration’s “Pivot to Asia” strategy, as well as the U.S. decision to send a delegation to the BRF.

In an interview with Chinese state-television, Mr. Nikai called the BRF a “great success.” He also handed over a letter from Mr. Abe to President Xi.