Foreign Minister Yohei Kono will hold talks with Chinese President Jiang Zemin and four other government and Chinese Communist Party leaders during his Aug. 28 to 31 visit to Beijing, according to a Japanese official.
The four other leaders are Premier Zhu Rongji, Vice Premier Qian Qichen, Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan and Zeng Qinghong, head of the party's Organization Department.
During the trip, Kono will also make a speech on the future of Japan-China relations.
The official added that the visit is aimed at preparing for Zhu's visit to Japan in October but that Kono will also use the occasion to raise Japan's concerns over the increase in Chinese maritime research activities and naval operations in what Japan considers its exclusive economic waters.
Japan and China have yet to sign a treaty delimiting their economic waters and the continental shelf because of disputes over where the demarcation line should lie.
According to a Foreign Ministry report earlier this month, Japan has spotted 17 instances of Chinese research activities and warship operations in its economic waters so far this year.
The official said Kono will not commit soft yen-denominated loans to China under a special loan package Japan launched in 1998 to help Asian countries recover from the recent economic crisis.
Earlier this month, the Liberal Democratic Party decided to postpone endorsing a government plan to extend 17.2 billion yen in special loans to China and to discuss the issue again after Kono's trip to Beijing. The LDP decision not to endorse the package stemmed chiefly from the increased naval activity.