China And Japan To Sign Agreement On Global Warming On Wednesday

Tokyo, Japan (AHN) - Chinese President Hu Jintao is scheduled Wednesday to hold talks and sign treaties on global warming with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.

Hu arrived in Japan on Tuesday in what is the second state visit by a Chinese president to Japan.

The Chinese leader joined Fukuda for an informal dinner on Tuesday night and was welcomed in a state ceremony on Wednesday morning.

Relations between the countries have been strained for the last 10 years and it is only now that they have been on the mend.

China suspended high-level diplomatic contact with Japan from 2001 to 2006 due to Chinese suspicion that then-Japanese PM Junichiro Koizumi was promoting militarism by visiting the Yasukuni war shrine repeatedly.

Wednesday, Hu and Fukuda are expected to sign two treaties concerning inter-governmental relations between China and Japan and the larger issue of global warming.

Hu had expressed hope earlier that his visit would improve relations between the countries. He told BBC News, "We stand at a new starting point. We must develop our strategic partnership."

The Japanese PM is unlikely to make any public statement about the Tibet issue, experts said.

Fukuda said, "There are a wide range of issues to talk about - not only Japan-China relations but also peace and stability and economy in the region - and I hope we can exchange views from a broad perspective," according to the Associated Press.

The men also will be discussing disputed gas fields in the East China Sea and Chinese food safety rules. The leaders are scheduled to play a game of ping pong to set a tone of amity.