China's Xi 'deeply regrets' death of Japan's Abe

Ties between Japan and China have been plagued for years by a territorial dispute over a group of tiny East China Sea islets as well as the legacy of Japan's past military aggression

China's President Xi Jinping expressed his condolences on Saturday over the death of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whom Xi said had worked hard to improve relations between the neighbours, Qazet.az reports according to Chinese state media.

Japan's longest serving modern leader was gunned down on Friday in the Japanese city of Nara while making a campaign speech for a parliamentary election. A 41-year-old Japanese male suspect has been arrested.

"I deeply regret his sudden death," state media quoted Xi as saying on behalf of the Chinese government and people in a message to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

"I once reached important consensus with him on building China-Japan relations."

Xi also extended his condolences to Abe's family, state television reported.