Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told Sankei Shimbun in September that “Premier Li Keqiang visited Japan in May and the Japan-China relationship has completely returned to a normal track,”and he hoped to visit Beijing in October 2018. Meanwhile, Toshihiro Nikai, Secretary General of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, invited PRC Vice President Wang Qishan to visit Japan. Wang Qishan is a trusted ally of Chinese President Xi Jinping, and he received a high-level Japanese delegation on August 31 reportedly in preparation for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s trip to China. There is growing speculation that Abe will visit China around October 23, when the two nations celebrate the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship.