Japan's Abe sees 'gradual improvement' in China ties: spokesman

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has told the G20 summit of global leaders that he sees an overall improvement in relations with China, a spokesman said on Sunday, although sticking points remain around the East China and South China Seas. China, the world's second-largest economy, and Japan, the third-largest, have a difficult political history, with relations stained by the legacy of Japan's World War Two aggression and conflicting claims over a group of East China Sea islets. "The prime min