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Ting Shi

Leaders' talks in Germany 'likely'

Mainland China and Japan's top leaders are preparing for a likely meeting on the sidelines of the Group of Eight summit in Germany next month to consolidate the  rapprochement between their  countries.

President Hu Jintao  and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are expected to discuss a range of bilateral issues including North Korea's nuclear programme and a dispute over gas and oil exploration in the East China Sea, Kyodo News Agency reported yesterday,  quoting unnamed government sources.

The Hu-Abe meeting has not been officially confirmed by either side. 'We are trying to co-ordinate a meeting, and nothing has been decided at this stage,' Japan's top government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki,  was quoted as saying.

In Beijing, the  Foreign Ministry   yesterday declined to confirm the report.

'The related arrangements are still under consultation and we will release information as it comes to hand, including the matter you raised,' spokeswoman Jiang Yu  said.

Mr  Hu was invited by host Germany to attend the three-day G8 summit, which begins on June 6 in the coastal resort of Heiligendamm.

The meeting  involves leaders from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States. Leaders of some major emerging economies, including the mainland,  are invited to discuss related issues with the eight leaders.

It would be Mr Abe and Mr Hu's first meeting since they met in November in Hanoi, on the sidelines of   an Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum meeting.

Mr Abe visited the mainland  in October, immediately after taking office, to meet Mr Hu and reverse a steep deterioration in ties during the five-year term of Mr Abe's predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi.

Tsinghua  University international relations professor Liu Jiangyong , who specialises in Sino-Japanese relations, said that besides trying to work out co-operation details for the controversial  energy project, Mr Hu would also try to drive home the unequivocal message that Beijing  would not make any compromises over the issues of Taiwan or the Yasukuni war shrine.

Mr Hu, in preparation for hosting the all-important party congress this autumn, would like to use the summit as an opportunity to smooth out these major disturbances on further development between the two sides.

Given his busy schedule later this year, he  is  unlikely to follow Mr Abe's Beijing trip with a visit to Japan. But he wants to maintain the promising momentum achieved during  Premier Wen Jiabao's  widely praised visit to Japan last month,  Professor Liu said.

'Various political interests are pulling the strings of Japan's foreign policy,' he said. '[President Hu] would like to make sure that Abe won't make unwise decisions on key issues under those influences.' The mainland and Japan  will hold an eighth round of talks on the East China Sea issues in Beijing today.

Mr Abe agreed in his talks with  Mr Wen  last month to hammer out concrete measures to deal with these issues by the autumn.

'It's too entangled an issue to be tackled by several rounds of talks,' Professor Liu said. 'I wouldn't be surprised if it remains unresolved by the end of this autumn.'

In another move that demonstrates the current administration's diplomatic skills,  Mr Hu yesterday invited newly elected French President Nicolas Sarkozy  to Beijing for a state visit this year.

Mr Sarkozy criticised Beijing  for its human rights record during his presidential campaign, but accepted the invitation 'without hesitation' said  his spokesman, David Martinon.

The new president recognised Beijing's positive involvement in  many international issues but nonetheless planned to have 'frank discussions' with his Chinese counterpart on a variety of matters, said  Mr Martinon.

Pang Zhongying , an international relations professor with Tianjin-based Nankai University, said: 'The Hu-Wen leadership has become diplomatically savvy over the years.

'They are gaining the ability to accommodate criticism.

'They have made many pragmatic adjustments to their foreign policies and have become less passive and very flexible.'



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