San Francisco, US, Nov 16 (EFE).- Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and China’s President Xi Jinping in San Francisco on Thursday expressed their desires to work together to improve bilateral ties and to maintain regional and international peace.
US President Joe Biden (L) escorts Chinese President Xi Jinping to his car to bid farewell after their talks in the Filoli Estate in Woodside, south of San Francisco, California, USA, 15 November 2023 (issued 16 November 2023). EFE/EPA/XINHUA / LI XUEREN CHINA OUT / UK AND IRELAND OUT / MANDATORY CREDIT EDITORIAL USE ONLY EDITORIAL USE ONLY
The meeting began after 5.40 pm US time on Thursday (01:40 GMT Friday) on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, and during the talks Kishida highlighted to Xi the roles their countries play in the maintenance of regional and international stability, according to Japanese state media.
“The international community is at a historic turning point. As great powers that lead the region and the international community, both Japan and China have a responsibility to contribute to global peace and stability,” Kishida said at the start of the meeting, according to public broadcaster NHK.
With this in mind, Tokyo wants to work together with Beijing to forge a “bright future for Japan-China relations,” the Japanese leader added.
Xi said that both sides must “focus on common interests, properly handle differences,” in statements during the meeting reported by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
The Chinese president emphasized that over the past 45 years, “bilateral relations have maintained a momentum of development despite the ups and downs, bringing benefits to the two peoples and playing a positive role in promoting regional peace, development and prosperity.”
“At present, the international situation is full of chaos and risks, and challenges are emerging one after another,” said Xi, who in this context highlighted the need for “peaceful coexistence, friendship for generations, mutually beneficial cooperation, and common development (…) in the fundamental interests of the Chinese and Japanese people.”
It is the second meeting for Kishida and Xi since their first in Bangkok a year ago, where they also took advantage of the APEC leaders’ meeting.
Kishida 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 mutually beneficial strategic relationship and conveyed to Xi his desire to strengthen communication so that their ties are “constructive and stable.”
The Japanese leader was expected to convey to Xi his concern for the situation in the East China Sea, including the territorial dispute between Tokyo and Beijing around the Senkaku Islands (called Diaoyu in China), and also ask Beijing lift its ban on imports of seafood caught in Japanese waters.
China adopted the restrictions following the start of the discharge of treated wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean in August and has become a new focus of tension between both countries. EFE
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