The Washington Post reported (October 26) that meeting Shinzo Abe on October 26, during the first formal visit by a Japanese leader to Beijing in nearly seven years, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that the two countries are “sharing more common interests and concerns.” He said China-Japan relations have undergone turbulence but are now “back to a normal track. Under the new situation, our interdependence with each other has deepened. Also, we are sharing more common interests and concerns in multilateral and wider areas.” Earlier Abe, accompanied by 500 businessmen, met twice with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to discuss issues ranging from the East China Sea dispute to trade cooperation and human rights. Abe's spokesman Takeshi Osuga separately told reporters that ties had recovered from what had been “not normal relations with a neighboring country,” but differences remained. That is particularly true in the East China Sea, where in addition to the islands, China and Japan are at odds over the exploitation of natural gas and other resources. He said “Prime Minister Abe reiterated his view that, without stability in the East China Sea, there will not be a true improvement of the relationship. The two leaders shared the view that there needs to be concrete progress in the field of maritime domain as balancing the security field, to build a constructive relationship and to get rid of the mutual distrust between the people of the two countries.” He also said the two sides agreed to hold a meeting by the end of the year to discuss ways to avoid confrontations in the air and at sea, and also signed an agreement on search and rescue cooperation.  Abe also attended a third-country investment conference and met with students at elite Peking University.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said that 500 agreements valued at US $18 billion had been signed during the visit. The two sides also signed a currency swap agreement of up to 3.4 trillion yen ($30.29 billion), effective until 2021 and inked an agreement to establish a yuan clearing bank.