Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Qin Gang announced on
Friday that Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda will pay an
official visit to China from Dec. 27 to 30.
This is Fukuda's first visit to China since he took office in
September.
The Chinese foreign ministry didn't immediately disclose details
of Fukuda's visit, but reports say the trip may include talks with
Chinese leaders, a lecture at the prestigious Peking University,
and visits to a new coastal development zone in Tianjin and the
tomb of Confucius in Qufu of east China's Shandong Province.
China and Japan have seen their relations improved since
ice-thawing trips by former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to
China last October, and Premier Wen Jiabao in April this year to Japan.
Fukuda's visit will be the climax of series of high-profile
bilateral exchanges this year, including a landmark visit to Japan
by a Chinese navy ship, and the first China-Japan high-level
economic dialogue, acclaimed by both parties as "very
fruitful".
President Hu Jintao is expected to visit Japan next
year.
(Xinhua News Agency December 21, 2007)
