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China-Japan ties ‘will stay on course’ despite delay in Xi Jinping’s state visit
- Postponement driven by public health concerns rather than political divisions, as both countries grapple with crisis
- Beijing and Tokyo ‘extremely reluctant’ to put trip off
3-MIN READ3-MIN
China’s relations with Japan are unlikely to be dented seriously by the postponement of President Xi Jinping’s planned visit to Japan next month due to the coronavirus epidemic, diplomatic observers said.
Citing Japanese government sources, news agency Kyodo and the Sankei newspaper reported on the weekend that Tokyo and Beijing had agreed to delay Xi’s trip as both sides were preoccupied with the fight to contain the deadly epidemic.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was expected to make an official announcement this week, the reports said.
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Xi’s trip, the first state visit by a Chinese leader to Japan since May 2008, is likely to be rescheduled “until autumn or later” after the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Analysts noted that despite rampant speculation of a schedule change since Japan reported a surge in coronavirus cases, government officials on both sides repeatedly stressed the importance of the visit and insisted that it would go ahead as planned.
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“Both sides are keenly aware that Xi’s visit is of pivotal importance for their often testy ties, which have yet to be fully stabilised, and they are extremely reluctant to put it off,” said Huang Dahui, a Japan expert at Renmin University in Beijing.
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