BEIJING -- Energy chiefs of China and Japan will hold a dialogue soon, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said Tuesday.

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The first-ever dialogue was proposed by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in November in Hanoi, where he met with Chinese President Hu Jintao on the sidelines of the the 14th Economic Leaders' Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

"China and Japan share common views on energy cooperation," Chinese Foreign Ministry Qin Gang told the regular briefing. "Both countries call for further communication on energy issues."

"Now China and Japan are now working on schedules of energy chiefs' meeting," the spokesman said.

Abe hoped the upcoming dialogue would help step up the cooperation on energy-saving and environmental protection.