BEIJING

Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan on Friday underscored the importance of an expected state visit to Japan by President Xi Jinping next spring.

If the presidential visit ends in success, that would have a significant impact and meaning on the bilateral relationship, Wang said at a meeting in Beijing with Shigeru Kitamura, head of the secretariat for Japan's National Security Council.

During a separate meeting on Friday, Kitamura and Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China and the top diplomat of China, affirmed cooperation toward Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to China later this month and the potential Japan visit by Xi.

The ongoing China trip is the first for Kitamura since he assumed his current position in September.

Wang, believed to be a close ally of Xi, attended the Oct. 22 "Sokuirei-Seiden-no-Gi" ceremony, in which Japanese Emperor Naruhito proclaimed his enthronement both at home and abroad.

Wang told Kitamura that he realized through his participation in the event that Japan has a huge influence in global society. The ceremony, held at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, was attended by a total of about 2,000 people, including more than 400 guests from abroad.

Jiji Press