Beijing, Dec 26 (EFE).- China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi met in Beijing on Wednesday with his Japanese counterpart Takeshi Iwaya in which he said that stable bilateral ties will create a more stable Asia and in which he advocated communication and dialogue between the two parties.
“If China-Japan relations are stable, Asia will be more stable; if Asia is stable, it will be able to play a more important role in the world,” Wang said, according to a statement published on Wednesday night by the Chinese Foreign Ministry following the meeting.
Wang also hoped that the two learn from history, eliminate interference, “adhere to the correct positioning of strategic and mutually beneficial relations,” and abide by the important consensus of «being partners and not posing a threat to each other.”
The diplomat asserted that Tokyo must «honor its promises on major sensitive issues such as history and Taiwan.
China and Japan should “properly handle contradictions and differences and avoid letting differences define or even hijack the relationship between the two countries,» Wang said, adding that he hopes Tokyo will «view China’s development objectively and with goodwill» and «pursue a positive policy» toward Beijing.
Wang “reiterated China’s opposition to Japan’s discharge (of treated Fukushima wastewater) into the sea,» while asking Iwaya to allow Chinese authorities to «independently take samples for testing.»
For his part, Iwaya said that Japan «is willing to enhance mutual trust, coordinate and cooperate with China,» according to the Chinese foreign ministry.
The Japanese minister highlighted the «huge potential for practical cooperation» with the Asian giant and thanked his counterpart for Beijing having granted the possibility of visa-free travel to China to Japanese citizens, while advancing that Tokyo will «relax its visa policy to facilitate personnel exchanges» between both parties.
Relations between Tokyo and Beijing, traditionally tense for historical reasons such as the Japanese occupation of part of China during the 1930s and 1940s, deteriorated further following China’s rapprochement with Russia after the invasion of Ukraine, and the intensification of Chinese military activities around Japan, especially around the Senkaku Islands, known as Diaoyu in China and whose sovereignty Beijing claims.
In addition, violent incidents have occurred in China this year against Japanese citizens.
In June, a Japanese woman and her daughter were stabbed in Suzhou, while in September a Japanese child was killed in Shenzhen, during the anniversary of the Mukden Incident, an attack on Japanese trains provoked by Tokyo in 1931 as a pretext to defend its invasion of Chinese territory. EFE
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