China asks Japan for concrete measures to improve ‘sensitive’ and ‘fragile’ relationship
- Foreign Minister Wang Yi issues plea after meeting Japanese counterpart Taro Kono during his two-day visit to China
Japan has been urged to take “concrete action” to help improve ties with China by Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who warned that elements of their relationship remained “sensitive and fragile”.
At a meeting with his Japanese counterpart Taro Kono in Beijing on Monday, Wang urged Japan to help transform their relationship from one of rivalry to cooperation after years of tension caused by their maritime and historical disputes.
The meeting was part of Kono’s two-day trip to Beijing to prepare for a potential visit by President Xi Jinping in June and to discuss market access and Japanese concerns over intellectual property protections, forced technology transfer and industrial subsidies for Chinese businesses.
Kono also had a courtesy meeting with Premier Li Keqiang, during which Li called for the two countries to “deepen economic cooperation and cultivate third-country markets for the benefit of not only our two countries but also to ensure a stable recovery of the global economy”.
An official who was present at the talks admitted that while the meetings saw “very friendly exchanges” between the two countries’ top officials, there had been little concrete progress on trade – in particular Japan’s demands for China to lift a sweeping import ban on food from 10 Japanese prefectures imposed in the wake of the 2011 Fukashima nuclear disaster.
