By Liz Lee and Sakura Murakami BEIJING/TOKYO (Reuters) -Seafood trade is expected to be on the agenda on Wednesday as Japan's foreign minister visits China, Japan's largest export market for aquatic products until Beijing banned them in protest against Tokyo releasing treated radioactive wastewater into the ocean.

Japan’s retail and tourism-related shares gained after the government agreed with China to introduce more measures to promote travel between the two countries.

Defence ministry in Beijing issues warning after US Space Force extended its operations to Japan for the first time this month.

Noting that China-Japan relations are at a crucial stage of improvement and development, Li said China is willing to work with Japan to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries,

Last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Peru, and the two sides agreed to work together to comprehensively advance the strategic relationship of mutual benefit between China and Japan and endeavor to build a constructive and stable China-Japan relationship fit for the new era.

Together, Honda and Nissan would also pose more of a threat to Toyota Motor Corp., which is the world’s biggest automaker followed by Volkswagen AG.

BEIJING: Chinese Premier Li Qiang said China-Japan relations are at a crucial stage of improvement and development during a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya in Beijing on Wednesday

The military strength of China vs. Japan has been a consideration for centuries, especially after World War II. As far as countries go, they aren’t exactly friendly towards each other. China’s growth as a country has led to the modernization of its military forces.

China-linked buyers accounted for 203 of 371 land purchases with national security significance in Japan in FY 2023.

The China-Japan relationship is at a critical phase in efforts to improve ties, and the fruitful outcome of Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya's first visit to China in his current post illustrates efforts by Beijing and Tokyo to add certainty to the bilateral agenda and the region's stability, analysts said.

Japan's crude steel output is expected to fall 2.4% in the first three months of 2025 due to slow demand from the manufacturing and construction sectors, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) said on Thursday.