As the two biggest economies in Asia attempt to mend tense relations, the junior coalition partner of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Japan has sent a delegation to Beijing to meet with the senior leadership team of China.

On Wednesday, Cai Qi, the chairman of the influential Secretariat of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, which is in charge of the CPC’s daily operations, met with a delegation from the Komeito party, which was led by the party’s leader, Natsuo Yamaguchi.

The ruling parties of both countries should “accurately grasp each other’s development and strategic intentions,” Chinese state media quoted Cai as telling the Japanese delegation.

Both sides should work together to promote “positive” and “friendly” mutual understanding, added Cai, also the fifth-ranked member of the CPC’s seven-person Politburo Standing Committee, the highest tier of political power in China helmed by President Xi Jinping.

The visit came on the heels of rare face-to-face talks between Xi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, also LDP’s leader, on the sidelines of an Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the United States last week during which both sides affirmed their strategic relationship.