Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to maintain mutually beneficial relations during their first face-to-face talks in a year, Reuters reports.
The meeting between the two nations signalled a bid by Asia’s two largest economies to mend strained ties.
During a conversation at the Apec Summit in San Francisco on Thursday night, the two leaders also discussed China’s ban on Japanese seafood and the high-profile case of a Japanese businessman detained in China. Shi Kishide said the countries should “focus on common interests” and reaffirm their “mutually beneficial strategic relationship and give it new meaning.”
In a joint statement in 2008, China and Japan agreed to maintain a “mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests” with frequent leadership exchanges on issues such as security. In recent years, however, the historic rivals have clashed over a number of issues such as territorial disputes, trade tensions and Taiwan.
Most recently, China imposed a ban on the sale of Japanese seafood after Tokyo decided to release treated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea in August.
In comments to the media after the talks, Kishida said he had urged Xi to lift the ban and also sought the swift release of the businessman, a huge blow to close economic ties.
Xi said Japan should take concerns over the Fukushima water discharge seriously and deal with the issue responsibly. The two sides also pledged to hold high-level dialogues on economic issues and welcomed the launch of a new structure to discuss export controls. China is Japan’s top trading partner, along with the United States.
The meeting between Kishida and Xi came after a long-awaited summit between US President Joe Biden and Xi, where the two superpowers agreed to open a presidential hotline and resume military contacts, as well as discuss other issues. Kishida also met with Biden at the summit, where they discussed issues including the “common challenges” they share with China.
According to Rumi Aoyama, an expert on Japan-China relations, China’s desire to reaffirm relations with Japan may be partly due to Tokyo’s close ties with its rival Washington. Aoyama, director of Waseda Institute of Contemporary Chinese Studies, said:
I think there is a desire to drive a wedge between Japan and the US by establishing a so-called strategic relationship with Japan amid the US-China confrontation.
On the sidelines of the Apec summit, Kishida also met with South Korean President Yun Suk-yeol. The state officials pledged to seek deeper cooperation and discussed common issues such as North Korea’s missile test. Yun, Kishida and Biden also held a brief trilateral meeting on Thursday.
Leaders of the 21 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum are in San Francisco for the 30th summit from 15 to 17 November.
