Japan is interested in buying Chinese government debt, in order to diversify its foreign-exchange holdings and get more involved in the world’s second-largest economy.

Japanese and Chinese leaders will meet at a summit later this month in order to discuss the mater, Japan’s finance minister Jun Azumi said.

“We’re not abandoning the dollar or euro, but we’re adding the yuan to deepen our relationship,” Azumi said. To invest in one another’s debt is beneficial for both countries, he added.

First signal that Japan is interested in buying Chinese state bonds came an year ago from then-finance minister Yoshihiko Noda, currently prime minister. He said in September 2010 that, since China is buying Japanese debt, Japan should do the same, considering that it holds world’s second-largest foreign curency reserve after China, at $1.22 trillion.

A senior Chinese banking analyst commented that Japan’s intentions show that “yuan-denominated assets are becoming more and more attractive. But the quota may be small because China will be cautious in allowing foreign governments to invest in Chinese government bonds.”