The heads of government of Japan and China, Fumio Kishida and Xi Jinpingheld a meeting this Thursday in the American city of San Francisco in which they expressed their desire to work together to improve bilateral ties and to maintain regional and international peace.
The meeting began after 5:40 p.m. US time on Thursday (1:40 GMT on Friday) on the sidelines of the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC), and during the talks Kishida highlighted to Xi the role that his countries play in maintaining regional and international stability, according to Japanese media.
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“The international community is at a historic turning point. As great powers that lead the region and the international community, both Japan as China have the responsibility to contribute to global peace and stability“said Japanese Prime Minister Kishida at the beginning of the summit, according to statements collected by the Japanese public broadcaster NHK.
With this in mind, Tokyo wants to work together Beijing “to forge a bright future for Japan-China relations“added the Japanese president to his counterpart.
The Chinese president agreed with this and noted for his part that “Both Japan and China should understand the current trends of history and times, and properly manage their difference of opinions”, in statements during the meeting reported by Chinese state television CCTV.
The Chinese president emphasized the importance of “keep” the pace of improvement in bilateral relations achieved in the last 45 years and “despite the ups and downs” in the same.
“At the current time, the international situation is full of chaos and risks, and challenges emerge one after another“said Xi, who in this context highlighted the need for the”Peaceful coexistence, friendship transcending generations, mutually beneficial cooperation and common development are in the interest of the people of China and Japan”.
It is the second summit of the current leaders of Japan and China since their first meeting in bangkok approximately a year ago, also taking advantage of the meeting of leaders of the APEC then.
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Fumio Kishida He also highlighted the importance of restoring the damaged ties of the two countries and adhering to the bilateral agreements adopted in the past to achieve ““a strategic relationship of mutual benefit” and transferred him to Xi Jinping their desire to strengthen communication at all levels so that their ties are “constructive and stable”.
It is expected that during his colloquium the Japanese president will convey to his Chinese counterpart his concern about the situation in the East China Seaincluding the territorial dispute that Tokyo and Beijing maintain regarding the Senkaku Islands (calls Diaoyu in China), and to also ask Xi that his country lift the veto on its imports of seafood caught in Japanese waters.
China adopted these restrictions following the start in August of the discharge of treated water from the damaged nuclear power plant in Fukushima to the Pacific Ocean and has become a new focus of tension between both countries.
