Tokyo, Nov 9 (EFE).- Japan and China are coordinating to organize a summit between Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of next week’s APEC summit in the United States, public broadcaster NHK reported Thursday.

China’s President Xi Jinping attends the 29th APEC Economic Leaders Meeting (AELM) during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Bangkok, Thailand, 19 November 2022. EFE-EPA FILE/JACK TAYLOR/POOL

Japan is looking to hold the summit on Nov. 16, a day after the expected meeting between Xi and US president Joe Biden on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum scheduled between Nov. 15-17 in San Francisco.

The secretary general of Japan’s National Security Secretariat, Akiba Takeo, left for China on Thursday to hold talks on the matter with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, NHK said.

If the talks between Kishida and Xi materialize, it would be the second face-to-face meeting between the Japanese and Chinese leaders since their first meeting on the sidelines of last year’s APEC summit in Bangkok.

During the meeting Kishida would like to address pending bilateral issues, according to Japanese sources, including the ban that Beijing imposed on Japanese seafood imports following the start of the discharge of treated water from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea.

Tokyo has been expressing interest in resuming high-level communication with Beijing regarding this and other issues, such as the arrest of a Japanese businessman by China at the beginning of the year for alleged espionage.

Another issue between the countries is the territorial dispute over Senkaku Islands, administered by Japan but claimed by China, which has been sending coast guard ships around its waters, escalating tensions with Tokyo. EFE

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