Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday vowed to uphold Japan's past apologies for World War II and expected to discuss with China about the newly established Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

In a sign of thawing relations, President Xi Jinping and Abe agreed to improve the key relationship, which has gone through ups and downs due to the Abe government's stance on historical and territorial issues.

The meeting can be seen as a repeat of history. One decade ago, then-president Hu Jintao had an eye-catching meeting with Junichiro Koizumi, then the Japanese prime minister, in Jakarta on the sidelines of the summit marking the 50th anniversary of the Bandung Conference. The meeting helped thaw relations shad-owed by Japan's stance on historical and Taiwan issues.