Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Asia Energy Forum in Tokyo the Director General of China’s Energy Research Institute Zhou Dadi said, “The door is open to [the Japanese government] for starting negotiations with China on developing an offshore natural gas field in the area.”

“China has a long-term policy in which it sets aside territorial disputes with neighboring countries and pushes ahead with unilaterally developing energy resources. Both nations should calm down a bit and discuss the issue with a good attitude. [Our] two countries are far from the point where they can discuss joint development,” added Zhou.

The two neighbours have been at loggerheads over the matter for a while now and the war of words as been quite heated at times. However, according to a report in Dow Jones, the Japanese stance seems to be thawing a little. According to the news agency, citing an anonymous Japanese government official, “China needs to spell out more clearly its suggestion of joint exploration of the reserves.”