Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping began their first face-to-face talks in Bangkok on Thursday over whether they could stabilize the two countries.
Ties were strained over a territorial dispute and Taiwan. At the first summit between the leaders of the two Asian neighbors in about three years, Kishida is expected to express Japan's concerns about Chinese attempts to undermine Tokyo's control of the Senkaku Islands in eastern China. sea and Beijing's increased military pressure on Taiwan.
The two met on the sidelines of the two-day summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, which kicked off in the Thai capital on Friday. Kishida told reporters in Bali, Indonesia on Wednesday that Japan and China face "many problems and concerns" and that he will "reiterate what needs to be reiterated" while calling for responsible behavior but also areas for bilateral cooperation will explore.
The prime minister also said he would try to build a "constructive and stable" relationship between Japan and China. Kishida is expected to call for bilateral cooperation on issues such as climate change and easing China's strict "zero-COVID" policy. to promote economic activity and exchanges between peoples. Tokyo and Beijing have fallen out over the Senkaku Islands, which China claims and calls Diaoyu, with Chinese ships repeatedly entering Japanese territorial waters around the islands.
Kishida is also expected to call for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait tensions after China held large-scale military exercises in Taiwan following a visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taipei in August.
During the exercises, five ballistic missiles launched by China landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea. Communist-led China regards Taiwan, a self-governing democratic island, as part of its territory.
Xi started with a norm: in October, his third five-year term as leader of the ruling Communist Party ended. At a summit with US President Joe Biden on Monday in Bali, the Chinese head of state emphasized that the Taiwan issue was "the first red line that must not be crossed".
Kishida and Xi are expected to discuss North Korea's recent repeated ballistic missile launches amid fears Pyongyang may soon conduct its first nuclear test since September 2017.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a news conference in Beijing on Thursday that China hopes Japan and Japan can "appropriately manage and control differences" and work together to build a bilateral relationship that "meets the demands of the new era." is equivalent to".
The Bangkok meeting is Kishida's first dialogue with Xi since the two phone calls last October, shortly after the Japanese leader took office. The heads of state and government of the two countries last met with then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in December 2019. Hold talks with Xi in Beijing.