Abe says after the two leaders meet at Russia’s Eastern Economic Forum plans are advancing for a first visit to Beijing by a Japanese prime minister since 2011
The leaders of China and Japan have pledged to accelerate cooperation in the latest sign that the two Asian rivals are mending ties that have been marred by territorial and historical disputes.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on the sidelines of a regional forum in the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed in their meeting on Wednesday that the two countries bore responsibility for world peace and prosperity as well as the goal of achieving North Korea’s denuclearisation.
Xi and Abe were in Vladivostok to participate the Eastern Economic Forum, a three-day summit hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin to promote investment in Russia’s far east.
Abe said before his meeting with Xi that the two neighbours had engaged in broad cooperation “in all areas, with active communication and dialogue”, Japanese news agency Kyodo reported.
“The horizon of cooperation is extending,” Abe was quoted as saying.
Beijing and Tokyo are taking steps to strengthen ties that have been strained by territorial disputes and historical grievances.
