May 7 (Bloomberg) -- Hu Jintao, China's first president to visit Japan in a decade, said Asia's two biggest energy consumers have ``no choice'' other than to improve relations and agreed to negotiate a territorial dispute over natural gas fields.

Japan and China should ``accelerate talks and reach an early agreement'' over the ownership of six gas fields in the East China Sea, Hu told reporters in Tokyo. Hu also promised the ``speedy resolution'' of an investigation into how pesticide- contaminated dumplings from China sickened 10 Japanese.

``The two countries have no choice but to progress on a path of peace, friendship and cooperation,'' Hu told reporters in Tokyo. ``China-Japan relations are at new historical starting point, and have a chance to develop further.''

Agreement between the leaders to discuss fields that hold as much as 363.9 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 17.9 million barrels of oil highlights warming relations. Talks stalled under former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who inflamed anger with trips to Tokyo's Yasukuni shrine, which Chinese see as a symbol of Japanese militarism.

China says its territory extends to the continental shelf's edge, close to the Japanese island of Okinawa, and has started pumping natural gas. Japan says the boundary is halfway between the countries.

East China Sea

Hu, 65, told Japanese reporters ahead of his trip that an agreement on the disputed fields was possible. The two leaders today didn't draft a detailed plan to resolve the issue, Nobutaka Machimura, Japan's top spokesman, said in a regular press conference.

``We would have announced details if we could,'' he said.

Hu also praised Japan for playing ``a contributing role to world peace and stability over the last 60 years,'' according to a joint statement from both leaders. The two countries issued a similar statement in 2006, when Koizumi's successor Shinzo Abe visited China in an effort to mend ties.

China also offered to provide a pair of giant pandas to Japan. Hu said the offer, made at a dinner with Fukuda yesterday, was a symbol of friendship.

The only panda at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo, Ling Ling, died on April 30. The zoo received its first giant panda from China in 1972, according to its Web site.

Hu also visited Emperor Akihito this morning and will meet with Japanese lawmakers and leaders of major political parties during a five-day trip.

Dalai Lama

The Chinese president today called on the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, to stop promoting a Tibetan separatist movement, inciting violence and seeking to ``sabotage'' the Beijing Olympics. Fukuda, 71, said he ``highly values'' talks between China and Tibet.

Tibet's government-in-exile said last week that 203 people were killed since protests against Chinese rule erupted in Lhasa and other areas on March 10. China says 18 civilians and one police officer died in the March 14 violence in the Tibetan capital.

Aides of the Dalai Lama and Chinese foreign ministry officials met in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen on April 25. China's Foreign Ministry so far hasn't set a date for further talks.

Fukuda declined to say whether he would attend the Olympics.

``There's still some time,'' he said. ``We are examining this matter.''

`Great Importance'

Hu today also said he placed ``great importance'' on food safety. China says the dumplings that sickened Japanese in January were likely deliberately poisoned in Japan. Japanese investigators say the problem may have been with quality control in China.

China's food exports to Japan declined 30 percent to 186,000 tons in February. China last year overtook the U.S. as Japan's largest trading partner, while Japan is China's third-biggest trading partner. After meeting with Fukuda, Hu attended a lunch hosted by Japan's largest business lobby group, Keidanren.

``We seek continued participation from Japan in the development of Chinese companies,'' Hu said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Dune Lawrence in Beijing at dlawrence6@bloomberg.net; Toko Sekiguchi in Tokyo at Tsekiguchi3@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 7, 2008 06:01 EDT