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Lee Jeong-ho

Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated Emperor Naruhito on his ascent to the throne of Japan as the neighbours and regional competitors seek to forge closer ties.
Xi sent greetings on Wednesday, stressing the importance of relations between Beijing and Tokyo, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The two countries should “work together to promote peaceful development and create a bright future for bilateral relations”, Xi said.
The president also “expressed his greetings and wishes” to Akihito, 85, who relinquished the throne to his son at midnight on Tuesday, bringing his 30-year reign, known as the Heisei era, to an end.




Naruhito took the Chrysanthemum Throne and began the Reiwa era with a pledge to become a “symbol of unity”.
Relations between China and Japan have been strained by disputes over the East China Sea and the bitter legacy of the second world war.
But the two Asian giants have moved closer amid fears in Japan about the US’ commitment to the region and China’s trade war with the United States.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Beijing in October and Xi is expected to attend a Group of 20 summit in Osaka in June.
China set to appoint new ambassador to Japan, as Xi Jinping prepares for June visit
A source said officials were considering whether Xi would use the summit as an opportunity for a state visit to Japan.
Felix Wiebrecht, a China researcher at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said that in the current international environment China was more willing to put a deep-seated rivalry aside and take Japan as a partner.
“Facing increasing tensions with the US, China is naturally turning towards other potential opportunities for cooperation,” Wiebrecht said.




“Xi is indeed very likely to visit Japan this year since it seems that both he and Abe are interested in strengthening their cooperation. A visit this year could be seen as a culmination in normalising their relationship and comes at the right time for China as its conflict with the US intensifies.”
Ryo Hinata-Yamaguchi, a visiting professor at Pusan National University in South Korea and an adjunct fellow at the Pacific Forum foreign policy research institute, said Xi’s message could be seen as Beijing’s expectation on Tokyo to keep relations positive.
“[But] this would raise questions in Japan, particularly regarding regional and bilateral security issues, as well as the trade issues between the US and China,” he said.
As Japan prepares to mark end of an era, a look back at how China started the system
“The big question is whether China – as well as the US – expects Japan to work as some kind of mediator between Beijing and Washington, causing dilemmas for the Japanese government.”
Zhang Baohui, director of the Centre for Asian Pacific Studies at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, said Xi and Abe could also hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 or make a separate state visit to Japan after the summit.
“Japan is reportedly interested in having a second and separate visit by Xi later in the year … The Japanese efforts are part of a broader attempt by the Abe administration to improve relations with China,” Zhang said.
“A separate state visit would cement the full recovery of Sino-Japanese relations since the 2012 Diaoyu Islands dispute.”

Japan and China both claim the territorial rights over the Senkaku Islands – known in China as the Diaoyus – in the East China Sea.
In 2012, the Japanese government bought three of the disputed islands from a private owner, prompting large-scale protests in China. The next year, tensions rose further as Beijing set up the East China Sea Air Defence Identification Zone, which included the islands and required all aircraft entering the zone to file a flight plan.
Zhang said diplomatic efforts this summer “should bring greater stability to the East China Sea and may even lead to greater Sino-Japanese cooperation on regional issues like economic integration”.
“But Japan’s concern for a rising China and China’s expanding maritime activities in the East China Sea will continue,” he said, adding that Japan has also expanded its military presence in disputed areas such as the South China Sea.



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China-Japan relations

Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulates Japan’s new emperor as neighbours edge closer

The Japanese flag flies at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on October to mark the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to China. Photo: Kyodo

epa07123172 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (L) shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a summit meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China, 26 October 2018, (issued 27 October 2018). EPA-EFE/JIJI PRESS JAPAN OUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/ NO ARCHIVES

(091215) -- TOKYO, Dec. 15, 2009 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Emperor Akihito(R) shakes hands with visiting Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping in Tokyo, Japan, Dec. 15, 2009. (Xinhua/Ma Zhancheng) (gj)

Japan’s Emperor Naruhito pledges to be ‘symbol of unity’ after ascending Chrysanthemum Throne to begin new Reiwa era

Japan’s Emperor Naruhito, flanked by Empress Masako, delivers a speech during a ceremony after his accession to the throne. Photo: Reuters

Combined photo shows new Japanese Emperor Naruhito and new Empress Masako. The Reiwa Era began on May 1, 2019, under the new emperor. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

People gesture standing on the streets under the rain as the new era of Japan's emperor called the Reiwa Era begins, and the Heisei Era ends, in Shibuya district in Tokyo on April 30, 2019. - Japan's new emperor Crown Prince Naruhito faces the delicate task of balancing tradition within the world's oldest monarchy and his own modern values, including protecting his family from the palace's rigid rules. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)

People celebrate the start of Japan's new imperial era Reiwa in Osaka's Dotonbori entertainment district in the early hours of May 1, 2019, as Emperor Naruhito ascends the throne. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Japan’s Heisei era followed 1980s boom and was marred by economic downturn, terrorism and devastating natural disasters

Visitors take a selfie with a panel with “Goodbye Heisei” written in Japanese at Fukuoka Tower. Photo: AP

FILE - In this March 20, 1995, file photo, subway passengers affected by sarin nerve gas are treated near Tsukiji subway station in Tokyo. The last six members of Japanese doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo who remained on death row were executed Thursday, July 26, 2018, for a series of crimes in the 1990s including the sarin gas attack on Tokyo subways that killed 13 people. (Kyodo News via AP, File)

Photo taken Dec. 23, 2018, shows Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito (L) and Emperor Akihito on a balcony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo from which they greeted a crowd gathered to celebrate the emperor's 85th birthday. Crown Prince Naruhito is set to become emperor on May 1, 2019. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Members of the public visit the Japanese Suzutsuki destroyer during an open day in Qingdao on Wednesday. Photo: Minnie Chan

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File photo taken in September 2012 shows the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

A China Coast Guard vessel (front) sails near a Japan Coast Guard vessel (back), south of Uotsuri island, one of a group of disputed islands, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, in the East China Sea, in this photo taken by Kyodo August 15, 2013. A long-running dispute over rival claims to uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, called the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, intensified last September after the Japanese government under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's predecessor bought the isles from a private Japanese citizen. Mandatory Credit. REUTERS/Kyodo (JAPAN - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS MARITIME) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. MANDATORY CREDIT. JAPAN OUT. NO COMME

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China

Diplomacy

Xi calls for ‘peaceful development’ as Reiwa era begins in Japan
Analysts see diplomacy as latest steps towards bringing an end to bitter rivalry


Xi calls for ‘peaceful development’ as Reiwa era begins in Japan, while analysts see diplomacy as latest steps towards bringing an end to rivalry coloured by territorial disputes and legacy of world war.


Japan

Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulates Japan’s new emperor as neighbours edge closer

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}Xi calls for ‘peaceful development’ as Reiwa era begins in Japan Analysts see diplomacy as latest steps towards bringing an end to bitter rivalry

Xi calls for ‘peaceful development’ as Reiwa era begins in Japan

Analysts see diplomacy as latest steps towards bringing an end to bitter rivalry