Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday evening.
At the start of the talks, Abe said he highly appreciates the ongoing high-level mutual visits between the two countries.
He stressed he regards Xi's state visit to Japan next spring as an important milestone in bilateral relations, adding that he hopes to make the visit meaningful to establish relations for a new era.
Xi said both China and Japan have worked hard to develop good relations over the past year. He also said they now have an opportunity to further advance those relations.
He expressed his hope to closely communicate with Abe to strengthen political leadership and to elevate China-Japan relations to a new level.
Details of the talks have yet to be released, but the leaders are believed to have discussed North Korea. Pyongyang has been acting provocatively ahead of its self-imposed year-end deadline for US concessions on denuclearization talks.
Abe is believed to have sought China's cooperation toward an early return of Japanese detainees in China, a prompt lifting of import controls on Japanese foods, and maritime security in the East China Sea.
On Tuesday, Abe will travel to Chengdu, Sichuan Province, to attend talks with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
