Visit can help promote positive regional trends: China Daily editorial

A desirable rapprochement between Beijing and Tokyo will not only benefit the two neighbors, but also contribute to the good momentum that has emerged in Northeast Asia of late.

So Premier Li Keqiang's upcoming visit to Japan is a welcome sign that the two countries are actively trying to revive their relations.

Li is scheduled to pay an official visit to Japan from May 8 to 11. Given that this will be the first visit by a Chinese premier to Japan in seven years, it will no doubt help break the ice between the two neighbors and contribute to the two sides' efforts to reanimate their relations.

Relations between the two countries have been in suspended animation for most of the past seven years since conservative forces in Japan "nationalized" some of islands to which both countries claim sovereignty in the East China Sea. The temperature plummeting further because of their unrepentant attitude toward Japan's history of aggression and the reopening of old wounds.

It is fanciful to believe the two neighbors will be able to breathe new life into their relationship in an instant. But Beijing and Tokyo can seize the opportunity of Li's visit to bridge their differences and maintain the promising momentum that has emerged.

Li is also due to attend the seventh Japan-China-Republic of Korea Trilateral Summit Meeting during his visit. The resumption of the trilateral summit after three years shows the three neighbors have a shared will to deepen their cooperation within the trilateral framework.

With their economies accounting for one-fifth of the global economy and 70 percent of the Asian economy, the three countries are positioned to promote regional and global growth by tapping the potential of deeper cooperation in trade, investment and other fields.

The resumption of the stalled China-Japan-ROK cooperation would also accord with the current encouraging developments on the Korean Peninsula, where the leaders of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the ROK have just concluded a historic meeting that signaled a dramatic reconciliation between the two neighbors as well as a hard-won opportunity for stakeholders to push for denuclearization of the peninsula.

Under such circumstances, a détente in China-Japan ties and resumption of China-Japan-ROK cooperation will help propel the positive trends in the region and facilitate better communication and coordination to address other regional issues.