Japan said on Tuesday that it had received approval from Chinese government to purchase 65 billion yuan (10.3 billion U.S. dollars) in Chinese government debt.

The news was announced by Japan’s Finance Minister Jun Azumi at a news conference.

"We feel this is an appropriate amount when considering our mutual goal of strengthening economic cooperation between Japan and China," Azumi told reporters.

Japan may not start the purchasing until months later, Azumi said, adding that Japan still needs to make some administrative preparations and consider the impact on financial markets.

It is the first time that Beijing has signed such an agreement with a developed nation. China does not allow investors to freely purchase its sovereign debt, requiring them to seek permission from its central bank.

China has been investing Japan’s government debt, in an obvious aim to diversity part of its foreign exchange reserve, the world’s largest, away from the dollar to the yen, according to analysts.

China and Japan agreed at a summit in December to facilitate trade between the yuan and the yen as part of a broader push to strengthen economic ties.