China and Japan emphasized the need to improve relations as the countries’ foreign ministers met in Beijing amid a backdrop of lingering territorial disputes and the challenge posed by North Korea.
Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono said it was important for Asia’s two biggest economies to cooperate on global and regional issues during talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Sunday.
But while lauding Japan’s apparent “desire” to improve ties — evidenced by the visit to China at the start of the year — Wang said China hopes that Japan can put its words into actions when it comes to normalizing the relationship.
“At present, China-Japan relations are at a crucial stage,” he said. “There is positive progress, but many disturbances and obstacles remain.”
Relations between China and Japan have been frosty since a 2012 crisis over disputed islands in the East China Sea reignited longstanding suspicion between the two World War II foes. While Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has tried to spearhead a push to repair the relationship, in a survey conducted late last year just 23 percent of Chinese respondents and 6.7 percent of Japanese saw ties between the two countries as good.
Kono is the first Japanese foreign minister to visit China since April 2016. During the meeting with Wang, he said the two sides need to work together to deal with issues of global relevance, “in particular the North Korea issue.”
“It is important not only to discuss issues related to the two countries, but for Japan and China to stand side by side to deal with global issues,” Kono said.
China is Japan’s biggest trading partner, while Japan is China’s second-largest single-nation partner after the U.S. Trade between the two countries was worth some $302 billion in 2016, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
— With assistance by Peter Martin, Dingmin Zhang, and Isabel Reynolds