Japan's National Security Advisor Yachi Shotaro has started a highly anticipated visit to China.
Shotaro has met with Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi and Premier Li Keqiang. His visit follows a trilateral meeting between China, Japan and South Korea in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Relations between China and Japan has been strained by the Japanese government's distorted view of history, its purchase of the Diaoyu islands and its move towards changing the Pacifist constitution.