<span style="color: #222222;">Japan and China have agreed to boost their relations ahead of a planned visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Japan in June this year. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">This would be Xi's first visit to Japan since coming to power in 2013.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">China's top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, told Prime Minister Shinzo Abe today that the timing is appropriate for the two sides to deepen ties. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Abe said Xi's visit would be a catalyst for further developing relations. Yang is meeting top officials in Japan to discuss details of Xi's visit, when he will attend a Group of 20 summit.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The two Asian powers have disputes over the ownership of tiny islands and undersea deposits in the East China Sea, as well as over wartime history, but their relations have improved recently amid the U.S. trade war with China.</span><br />''