Abe to send envoy to Belt and Road Forum

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will send his special envoy Toshihiro Nikai, secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, to attend the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing.

In a news conference held by the Japanese embassy in China on Monday, Takeshi Osuga, Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman, said Nikai will visit China from April 24 to 29 to attend the forum and give a speech.

In a previous conference at LDP's headquarters in Tokyo, Nikai said his party called for increased exchange between Japan and China.

As the Japanese foreign minister Taro Kono just ended a three-day visit to China, Osuga said the visit was "very positive" and further strengthened bilateral ties between Beijing and Tokyo.

"In the fifth China-Japan High-level Economic Dialogue, China and Japan achieved agreement to cooperate in such areas as energy conservation and environmental protection, science and technology innovation, high-end manufacturing, finance, sharing economy, medical care and elderly care industries," Osuga said, adding Japan and China will push forward cooperation in more areas this year.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at the dialogue on Sunday that China hopes the two sides can make steady headway in promoting bilateral investments and trade cooperation, and actively explore third-party market cooperation as well as local cooperation.

Osuga said the Japanese government's position on the Belt and Road Initiative remains unchanged, as it expects to conduct cooperation with China in a third market, promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation and uphold a business environment of fairness, justice and non-discrimination.