Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Saturday visited Tianjin, one of China's fastest-growing cities, with the hopes of Tokyo's business leaders on his shoulders. Fukuda, who is on his second official day of a four-day tour in China, held talks and lunched with the top official of Tianjin, Zhang Gaoli.
Fukuda told Zhang that he expresses "gratitude towards the Tianjin government for supporting the activities of Japanese companies here," the Japanese embassy in China said in a statement.
Zhang, the leader of the Chinese Communist Party in Tianjin, told Fukuda that he wishes to make Tianjin a showcase city of Japan-China cooperation in environmental protection and energy-saving, it said.
Tianjin, an investment hub north of Beijing, is the hometown of Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, "which is also politically important," a Japanese trade ministry official told reporters, adding a senior Japanese diplomat had recommended Fukuda visit the city.