TOKYO (Kyodo) -- China's top diplomat Wang Yi has informally suggested that Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba visit China to attend a ceremony for the Asian Winter Games to be held in Harbin from Feb. 7, several diplomatic sources said Friday.

The proposal by Wang during his talks in mid-January with Hiroshi Moriyama, secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, who visited Beijing together with other Japanese ruling coalition lawmakers, indicates China is keen to resume leaders' visits with Japan.

However, it may be difficult to arrange a trip by Ishiba in early February as the Japanese government is prioritizing setting up a meeting between the premier and U.S. President Donald Trump on or around Feb. 7.

China has been eager to stabilize relations with Japan so it can focus on addressing challenges posed by the Trump administration, observers say.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang told Moriyama and the Komeito party No. 2, Makoto Nishida, on Jan. 15 that he would welcome a visit to China by Ishiba "at a convenient time" and expressed willingness to travel to Japan for a trilateral summit with South Korea. Komeito is the LDP's junior coalition partner.

Chinese President Xi Jinping was scheduled to visit Japan in 2020 but postponed his trip due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wang made the suggestion when he informally talked with Moriyama and several other Japanese lawmakers on Jan. 14, according to the diplomatic sources.

The upcoming Asian Winter Games to be hosted by the Heilongjiang Province city in China's northeast will run through Feb. 14, with some 1,300 athletes participating from 34 countries and regions, including Japan and South Korea.

Ishiba met with Moriyama and Nishida on Jan. 17 to be briefed about their visit to China. The LDP secretary general told reporters following the talks he believes the premier wants to travel to China as early as possible.

In December, China and Japan agreed to promote exchanges through sporting events such as the Harbin games and the Asian Games to be co-hosted by Aichi Prefecture and its capital Nagoya in central Japan in 2026.

The agreement was reached during a bilateral high-level people-to-people and cultural exchange dialogue that was held when Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya visited Beijing.