China's Premier Seeks Warmer Japan Ties

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, left, and China's Premier Wen Jiabao, right, shake hands prior to their bilateral meeting at the 12th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, central Philippines in this Jan. 14, 2007 file photo. China's Premier Wen Jiabao urged his Japanese counterpart not to visit a Tokyo war shrine at the center of tensions over Japan's past military aggression in Asia, a news report said Wednesday, April 4, 2007. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File) (Eugene Hoshiko - AP)

Japan invaded and colonized much of Asia in the past century, and many Chinese harbor bitterness over the ill-treatment they suffered. China has long accused Japan of trying to minimize its atrocities _ both in comments by top officials and in school history textbooks.

Territorial disputes and conflicting claims to gas deposits in the East China Sea have added to the friction, threatening to disrupt thriving economic ties and unnerving other Asian neighbors, who urged the two to resolve the impasse.

Some Chinese saw the dispute pushing Japan closer to its American ally, frustrating the communist governmennt's goal of assuming the role of regional power broker.

Both sides moved quickly to restore links following the departure in September of Abe's predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi, who had enraged China with his visits to the Yasukuni Shrine. Abe visited China just two weeks after taking up his post.

Since then, Chinese leaders and the state-controlled media have toned down their anti-Japanese rhetoric, responding only mildly to Abe's push to reform Japan's pacifist constitution to give the military a bigger profile. Provocative moves such as Abe's recent comments downplaying Japan's responsibility for consigning sex slaves to military brothels in the 1930s and '40s have drawn an unusually calm response from Beijing.

Abe, whose popularity at home has slumped, has also stayed away from Yasakuni, although he hasn't said whether he would forego such visits altogether.

Wen's visit will emphasize the positive aspects of Sino-Japanese relations, including shared interests in trying to resolve tensions over North Korea's nuclear program. Economic ties will also feature highly: Japan is China's third biggest trading partner and second largest source of foreign investment, with bilateral trade hitting $207.4 billion last year.

Balancing the need for pragmatism while upholding nationalist sentiments will be a key test of Wen's leadership, said Yu Maochun, a history professor at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

"In all of China's dealings with its neighbors, Japan remains the toughest nut to crack," Yu said.

(UPDATES with Wen's departure; corrects that Abe visited China in October sted September in graf 2; minor edits)