Xi, Suga will keep their first call sweet, analysts say – so no talk of Hong Kong, Taiwan or the Diaoyu Islands

Japan’s new prime minister and the Chinese president are set to speak for the first time by phone on Friday

Likely to come up is Xi’s planned state visit, delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic and facing opposition from politicians in Suga’s party

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Japan’s new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is burnishing his diplomatic credentials, with a call to South Korean President Moon Jae-in and a visit from Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison also on the agenda. Photo: Reuters

Published: 7:00am, 24 Sep 2020Updated: 10:40pm, 5 Oct 2020

Japan’s new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Chinese President Xi Jinping are likely to avoid the contentious issues that dogged their countries’ relationship under Suga’s predecessor Shinzo Abe – including the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands, Hong Kong and Taiwan – when they speak for the first time by phone on Friday, according to analysts.

Xi will congratulate Suga on his election, and the two leaders will express their commitment to harmonious and mutually beneficial ties as they “seek to take the heat out of the relationship”, one expert suggested.

One of the issues that is likely to come up is the possibility of resurrecting the plan for Xi to pay a state visit to Japan. The Chinese leader was scheduled to visit earlier this year, but the trip was delayed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Opposition to Xi’s visit has subsequently grown among a number of members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) due to Beijing’s aggressive moves regarding the Diaoyu Islands, which are administered by Japan – where they are known as the Senkaku Islands – and also claimed by Beijing and Taipei. Negative sentiment to the trip was ratcheted up after Beijing passed the controversial national security law for Hong Kong in late June and used the provisions of the legislation to crack down on dissent.

Akitoshi Miyashita, a professor of international relations at Tokyo International University, said he believed Suga would like the state visit to go ahead “at some point”.

“First and foremost, Suga and Xi are probably going to try to establish a smooth working relationship, something that is important to both sides given the tough stance that [United States] President [Donald] Trump has adopted towards Beijing,” he said. “I think that both Suga and Xi would like to have better relations given the broader economic problems they face.”

There has been growing opposition to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s planned state visit to Japan. Photo: DPA

Miyashita said that while Suga was likely to face dissent over Xi’s trip, he would be swayed by Toshihiro Nikai, whom the new prime minister has retained as LDP secretary-general. He added that Nikai – known for his pro-Chinese attitude – might already be using his contacts to push ahead with plans for the visit, which he would promote as being in the national interest.