TOKYO -- China and Japan have reached consensus on properly handling the East China Sea issue, a joint press communique said here on Wednesday.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (L) and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (C) applaud following the China-Japan joint declaration signing ceremony in Tokyo April 11, 2007. Wen arrived in Japan on Wednesday for a summit with Abe aimed at setting aside rancour over the past and focusing on ways to tame rivalry over energy and influence. Standing on Abe's right is Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Aso. [Reuters]

In the press communique issued after talks between visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe, the two sides said they are committed to efforts to make the East China Sea a "sea of peace, cooperation and friendship."

The two sides will conduct joint development in accordance with the principle of mutual benefit as a temporary arrangement pending the completion of demarcation of sea borders, it said.

They will hold higher-level dialogues on the East China Sea issue if need arises, the communique said.

The two sides also agreed to conduct joint development in a "relatively wide area that is acceptable to both sides," it said.

The two countries will accelerate the process of consultations so that they could report to the two countries' leaders this fall about specific plans for joint development, according to the communique.

The communique also said Japan would introduce mobile processing equipment to speed up work to dispose of abandoned chemical weapons in China.