China, Japan promise greater foresight and broader vision

Although it takes about three hours to fly from China to Japan, China's top leader had not set foot in Japan since taking office because of the two neighbors' estrangement over some acute differences on territorial and historical issues.

Yet the amicable atmosphere that prevailed during the meeting between President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Osaka on Thursday evening, as well as the fact that Xi agreed in principle to pay a state visit to Japan next spring, sent an encouraging message to the world that the two countries are willing to put their differences aside to address common challenges.

The statement that the two sides have reached a 10-point consensus injected vigor into the relations of the "close neighbors" in the new era, as the world pins high hopes on the G20 Leaders' Summit on Friday and Saturday to tackle daunting challenges.