Yu Zhengsheng, the Chinese Communist Party's fourth-ranked leader, said Monday that steps toward repairing Beijing's relations with Tokyo are gradually getting back on a positive track.
"Sino-Japanese relations are currently improving. The force is not strong yet, but it is heading in a good direction," Yu said during a meeting in Beijing with a group of senior lawmakers of Japan's ruling coalition parties, one of the politicians said, according to Kyodo News Agency on Monday.
Yu said China's events to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II are not intended to fan resentment against Japan and this year is a good chance to mend bilateral ties strained by differences over territory and history, according to Kiyohiko Toyama, a Komeito party lawmaker, who was part of the seven-member group.