China and Japan have both announced that they have reached a consensus in principle concerning the joint development of the East China Sea. This is certainly a breakthrough in the bilateral relationship and a good step forward in the security situation in North East Asia.
Just before the Sichuan Earthquake, Chinese president Hu Jintao paid a state visit to Japan called the "warm spring" visit which warmed up the bilateral relationship. During the large scale rescue efforts during the earthquake, the Chinese government gave green light to accept Japanese rescue team into the earthquake striken area in Sichuan. The Chinese blogsphere was full of statements expressing appreciation of the Japanese efforts. It is thus no surprise that the two sides have seized the opportunity to improve their relations further and addressed a major issue of conflict, i.e. dispute over East China Sea and agreed to jointly develop the sea resources.