Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Friday that Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi will deliver a letter to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao stressing the importance of friendly bilateral ties.

Kawaguchi is scheduled to depart on a visit to China on Sunday.

"(In the letter,) I will mention the importance of (maintaining) a friendly relationship between Japan and China," Koizumi told reporters at the Prime Minister's Official Residence. "Since this year marks the 25th anniversary of the conclusion of the Japan-China Treaty of Peace and Friendship, I will express hope that the two countries will continue cooperating with each other."

During her three-day visit, Kawaguchi hopes to meet with the new Chinese leadership, including her counterpart, Li Zhaoxing, and Wen.

She will urge Beijing to pressure North Korea over its nuclear ambitions.

The foreign minister will also aim to lay the groundwork for a summit meeting between Koizumi and Chinese President Hu Jintao. A summit of this kind has yet to be realized due to Chinese anger over Koizumi's repeated visits to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine.

Indeed, with Beijing having adopted a tougher stance on the Yasukuni issue under the Hu leadership, a leaders' summit has yet to be put on the diplomatic calendar.

Yasukuni Shrine honors Japan's war dead, as well as Class-A war criminals.

According to some media reports, China does not plan to hold a summit for the time being in protest at the shrine visits.

Koizumi himself insists that this is the case.

"We will wait for the (right) timing" for the visit, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Friday.