Two sides agree to resume reciprocal visits by leaders, continue to work together on North Korea, and hold trilateral summit with South Korea
There were signs of a thawing in relations between China and Japan on Sunday as the two sides agreed to resume reciprocal visits by their leaders and reaffirmed their shared stance on North Korea.
But visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono was told by his counterpart Wang Yi that although Beijing welcomed Tokyo’s efforts to improve ties, it urged Japan to “put words into real actions”.
Kono also met Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and State Councillor Yang Jiechi during his trip to Beijing – the first by a Japanese foreign minister for nearly two years.
China and Japan were improving their bilateral ties, Li told Kono, describing relations between the two countries as “barely warm, and still cool”.
The two sides also agreed to hold a postponed trilateral summit with South Korea “as soon as possible”, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Japan’s top envoy Taro Kono lands in Beijing aiming to improve strained ties
Earlier in the day in his talks with Kono, Wang urged joint efforts with Japan to get bilateral ties back on track.
“Your visit to China at the beginning of the year shows the Japanese government’s strong willingness to improve bilateral ties,” Wang said. He also urged Tokyo “not to slack off or fall back, and to work together with China to meet each other halfway”.
Wang said “many disturbances and obstacles remain” for relations between the two countries and that they were now “like a boat going against a current – if there is no progress then things go backwards”.
Kono told Wang that China and Japan “have a major responsibility in safeguarding the stability and prosperity of Asia and the world at large”, and expressed hopes for improved ties.
