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TOKYO, Sept. 26 (AP): New Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed in talks on Friday to work closely together by holding high-level meetings, including summits. But they did not discuss the possibility of Xi’s visit to Japan.
“I told (Xi) that the stability of Japan-China relations is crucial, not only for the two countries, but also for the region and international society,” Suga told reporters after their telephone conversation.
His talks with Xi on Friday night were the first since he took office just over a week ago, replacing Shinzo Abe, who resigned due to health problems.
A planned visit by Xi to Japan last April was postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic. The plan had sparked protests even within Japan’s ruling party over China’s tightening of controls over Hong Kong and its assertive actions in regional seas.
“We are not discussing (Xi’s) possible visit to Japan,” Suga said.
However, the leaders agreed to hold summits and other high-level meetings to cooperate on bilateral, regional and international issues, he said.
Relations between the two Asian rivals have improved recently as China faces increased tensions with the United States.
But Japan views China’s military development and its increasingly assertive stance in the East and South China Seas as a major security threat. Chinese coast guard ships routinely violate territorial waters around the Japanese-controlled southern Senkaku Islands, which China calls Diaoyu and also claims.
China’s official Xinhua news agency said Xi noted the improvement in relations and said China is willing to work with the Suga government to deepen cooperation in mutually beneficial areas such as trade and to handle sensitive issues, including historical ones.
The Japanese military invasion of China in the 1930s and 1940s remains a sore spot between the two.
Suga also held phone conversations with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi early Friday and expressed his intention to work together to achieve a “free and open Indo-Pacific” aimed at verifying China’s maritime assertiveness.
On Thursday, Suga held talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, urging him to take steps to repair bilateral relations badly damaged by war compensation issues. – AP
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