China and Japan moved to take their relationship “to the next level” on Thursday as the leaders of the two countries met before the G20 summit in Osaka and confirmed that Chinese President Xi Jinping would make a state visit next spring. Following talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Xi said that the relationship between the two countries had improved in a way that had been “rarely seen” in many years and described the state visit as a “good idea”. “I think that the Sino-Japanese relationship is at a new historical starting line. I would like to strengthen the high-level strategic leadership together with the prime minister, and work together to build a Sino-Japanese relationship that meets the demands of the new era together,” he said. Abe extended the invitation to visit “around the time of the cherry blossoms”, saying: “I would like to welcome President Xi as a state guest to Japan, and hope to further elevate ties between Japan and China to the next level.” Abe also told Xi that he wanted to elevate ties with China to create a new era for Asia’s biggest economies, as China celebrates the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic in October while Japan has just entered the Reiwa era following the accession of the new Emperor Naruhito. The prime minister said their relationship would be developed according to three principles: the shift from competition to cooperation, developing free and fair trade and ensuring there was no threat between neighbours. The meeting between the two happened at roughly the same time that Donald Trump arrived in the Japanese port city and the US President is due to meet his Japanese host on Friday and the Chinese leader on Saturday. The dynamics between the US, China and Japan will be closely watched at the Group of 20 summit, which will also be attended by the leaders of the world’s other leading economies. While the official agenda focuses on global issues such as reform of the World Trade Organisation and climate change, all eyes will be on the Xi-Trump meeting on Saturday that many hope will herald a truce in the trade war between their countries that has cast a long shadow over the world’s economy. Before his meeting with Abe, Xi also met South Korean President Moon Jae-in and expressed his hope that the US and North Korea would agree to further talks and show flexibility in resolving the nuclear question on the Korean peninsula. All three Asian economic powerhouses are facing increased economic pressure from the US, which has taken a much more unilateral approach under Trump, who has imposed – or threatened to use – tariffs to force them open up their domestic markets and carry out market and structural reforms. Takeshi Osuga, Japan’s foreign press secretary and official spokesman for the G20 conference, said that Japan would not act as mediator in the dispute between Washington and Beijing, but hoped that the two would settle their differences. China hopes to avoid trade war escalation ahead of Trump-Xi G20 meeting “We will be following closely and hope that their differences can be solved in a constructive manner,” said Osuga. “Japan will not be playing the role of mediator between the US and China, but as the third [biggest] economy, we have an interest in what’s happening between the number one and number two, and we want things to go well,” he added. Last week, China’s ambassador to Japan, Kong Xuanyou, warned that increasing protectionism threatened the world economy and urged Japan to help China protect “rule-based” multilateral trade by “joining forces to contribute more to the stability and prosperity of the region”. According to Chinese state media reports, Xi and Abe agreed on “10 consensus” items, including accelerating talks among China, Japan and South Korea on a free trade agreement, safeguarding peace in the East China Sea and protecting multilateralism and global free trade. Osuga also had said that Abe had raised the issues of Hong Kong and Xinjiang in his meeting with Xi. China ‘wants security relationship with Japan’ as it looks for friends “Prime Minister Abe pointed out the importance of [maintaining] a free and open, and prosperous Hong Kong under the ‘one country two systems’ formula with the recent extradition bill situation in Hong Kong in mind.” He said Abe had also discussed “the human rights situation in China” and the importance of “upholding universal values like respect, freedom, human rights, and the rule of law, including [for] the Uygurs,” Osuga said. Diplomatic observers said that although the meeting between Xi and Abe could help bolster relations between their countries, Japan’s alliance with the US remained strong. Zhou Yongsheng, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing, said Japan would prioritise the relationship with the US while Washington would be seeking support from its ally within the G20. “Even if China wants to push for greater economic cooperation with Japan in this context, it will be very difficult to yield any outcome,” Zhou said. But Liu Junhong, a Japanese specialist at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said America’s actions could push Tokyo closer to China. Trade war: US and China agree to tentative truce before G20 summit “Japan is also facing pressure from US economically, and the US also wanted to add tariffs on their automobile exports,” he said. “China is also an important market for Japan, so we should not be too worried that Japan will show that it is siding with the US in the [Trump-Xi discussions].” Ties between China and Japan have long been strained by their territorial dispute over the Senkaku, or Diaoyu, islands in the East China Sea and the legacy of Japan’s invasion and occupation of China in the Thirties and Forties. Watch: Hong Kong protest over Diaoyu Islands in 2014 But Tokyo and Beijing have sought to improve relations in recent years, following a flare-up of the Senkaku dispute in 2011. Abe visited Beijing last October, when both sides pledged to forge closer ties and signed a broad range of agreements following a currency swap pact. Earlier this week a former Japanese diplomat also said that China had suggested during Abe’s visit that the two sides should try to overcome their long-standing rivalry to build a new security relationship. Additional reporting by Kinling Lo
