There are signs of improvement in the China-Japan relationship, but it's still too early to get optimistic about future developments. Here's some background on the Japanese foreign minister's trip to Beijing.

This is the first visit to China by a Japanese foreign minister in 4 years. And the last time a Chinese foreign minister visited Japan was in November 2009.

The world’s second and third largest economies also share a 344 billion US dollars trade relationship. No one wants to worsen tensions between them.

The rift comes as Japan continues to criticize China’s activities in the South China Sea, which Beijing claim is within its legitimate rights.

China, for its part, is always unhappy about Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s regular visit to Yasukuni Shrines honoring Japan’s war criminals during the Second World War.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Abe had overcome disagreements to meet in November 2014 in Beijing and again during April 2015 in Djakarta.

But bilateral ties hadn’t seen much improvement as schedules for high-level economic dialogues stagnated.

Both countries are scheduled to attend the G-20 meeting in Hangzhou this September…and any further chances for dialogues may depend on the up-coming meeting between the two foreign ministers.