Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe walks away after announcing his resignation at a press conference in Tokyo on September 12.

Talking to reporters in Beijing the same day, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said that Abe has played an active and constructive role in developing China-Japan ties, which have scored tangible improvement thanks to the efforts made by both the Chinese and Japanese governments and peoples from all walks of life.

Soon after he took power last September, Prime Minister Abe made his first overseas tour to China and the Republic of Korea, breaking decades-old practice for a new Japanese head of government to first visit the United States. The "ice-breaking tour" ended a five-year suspension of mutual visits between Chinese and Japanese state leaders.

According to Jiang, further development of China-Japan ties is in the fundamental interests of the two nations and two peoples and China hopes the development momentum of bilateral ties will see continuous growth.