TOKYO, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has sent his congratulations to overseas Chinese in Japan on the upcoming Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year.

Through a public letter published Thursday on Chubun, a Chinese language newspaper in Japan, the Japanese prime minister sent his greetings to the Chinese people in Japan ahead of the traditional Chinese festival.

Abe said China and Japan held a few rounds of high-level dialogues last year, and he himself met with Chinese leaders and exchanged views with them frankly in November last year.

As this year marks the 40th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship, he would like to reiterate his wishes to make 2018 a year in which people in both countries could feel great improvement in the bilateral ties, said Abe.

It is hoped that the bilateral ties could be brought to a new phase through high-level exchanges, said Abe.

He also pointed out that visitors from China to Japan reached a record high of more than 7 million in 2017, while panda baby Xiang Xiang born at the Ueno Zoological Gardens in Tokyo last year has been very popular among the Japanese people.

It is hoped that the two countries would continue to push forward communication and cooperation in all areas in 2018 and that overseas Chinese in Japan would give strong support to further development of bilateral relations between China and Japan, said Abe.