China and Japan will hold a new round of strategic dialogue on Saturday (August 10) in Japan after seven years, spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Hua Chunying announced on Wednesday. 

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng and his Japanese counterpart Takeo Akiba are expected to exchange in-depth views on bilateral ties, as well as international and regional issues of concern to both sides. 

Launched in May 2005, China-Japan strategic dialogue is an important channel for the two governments to strengthen strategic communication. The upcoming event – the 14th round of the dialogue – will be the first of its kind since June 2012.  

"China hopes to strengthen political mutual trust and further promote the improvement of bilateral ties through this dialogue," Hua said.

Relations between the two East Asian countries have been improving in recent years. In May 2018, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang paid an official visit to Japan. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe paid an official visit to China five months later. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping attended a summit of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies in Japan's Osaka in late June. During the meeting between Xi and Abe on the sidelines of the summit, the two leaders reached a 10-point consensus to jointly promote the healthy development of bilateral relations.

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Both leaders agreed that China and Japan should focus on consensus while managing differences. The two countries will also uphold the spirit of replacing competition with coordination and continue to strengthen the China-Japan relations on the right track. 

Abe, on behalf of the Japanese government, invited Xi to pay a state visit to Japan in the spring next year, who has agreed in principle to the invitation. 

The Japanese side sees the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative as a promising idea for linking diverse regions, while China welcomes Japan to actively take part in the high-quality construction of the Belt and Road. 

The two sides pledged to strive for solid results in third-party market cooperation. 

(With input from Xinhua)