Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may accept an official invitation to visit China this year, following Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's trip to Japan next week, Bloomberg News reports.

Abe said in an interview with China Central Television that he will think positively about Wen's invitation, made in October last year, a Japanese government spokesman told reporters in Tokyo Friday.

Wen's trip, the first by a Chinese leader since former Premier Zhu Rongji's October 2000 visit, is a sign of improving ties between Asia's two biggest economies. Abe met with Wen during his visit to Beijing in October soon after taking office.

During Wen's three-day visit, starting on April 11, Abe expects Japan and China to announce agreement on specific cooperation over issues such as energy, environment and regional security, the Japanese government spokesman said. He also expects the two countries to hold discussions on UN reform, the China News Service reports.

Abe and Wen will also agree that the two countries will start talks between economic ministers.

The East China Sea issue concerning gas field development will be one of the main subjects when Abe and Wen meet in Tokyo next week, Bloomberg News reports.

In a joint interview with journalists from 16 Japanese news organizations on Wednesday, Wen Jiaobao said expected his Japan visit to be a success and really 'melt the ice' in China-Japan relations.

The premier, however, warned against Japanese leaders' visits to Yasukuni shrine, which has been a key source of tension between China and Japan.

Wen's visit also coincided with the 35th anniversary of the normalization of China-Japan relations and the Year of Cultural and Sports Exchanges.