Japan ‘pushes for summit’ with China and South Korea this year
Chances of restarting top-level talks rise as Xi and Abe cement leadership at home and other tensions ebb, diplomatic sources say
Japan aims to resume top-level talks with China and South Korea before the end of this year amid signs of easing tensions between the three East Asian neighbours, according to diplomatic sources and observers.
The region’s three top economies called off their annual summit scheduled for July as suspicions rose between Beijing and Tokyo, and China took offence at South Korea’s decision to deploy a US-supplied anti-missile system.
An ongoing reshuffle of officials in China would complicate efforts but the chances of restarting the talks had risen with the leaders of China and Japan cementing their domestic authority and signs of a thaw in relations between Beijing and Seoul, diplomats and observers said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping consolidated his status at last month’s Communist Party congress while Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has just won a decisive third term.
Observers said the summit would give Beijing the opportunity to bring the three nations together just as US President Donald Trump was trying to strengthen the US alliance in the region.