BEIJING – In a Monday meeting, visiting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping confirmed they would aim to achieve a "new era" for Japan and China.
Abe's first visit to China in about a year saw the prime minister ask Xi to positively deal with various pending issues -- such as the territorial intrusions of Chinese ships about the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture and the Hong Kong protests -- in order to make a success of Xi's visit to Japan as a state guest in April next year.
Opposition within Japan
Before going to Chengdu, Sichuan Province, where the trilateral summit between Japan, China and South Korea will be held, Abe visited Beijing to separately meet with Xi. The meeting, including a dinner party, lasted for about two hours.
During the meeting, Japan and China fiercely negotiated over bilateral issues. Abe conveyed Japan's position that a true improvement of the Japan-China relationship would not be possible without stability in the East China Sea, and strongly urged Xi to make Chinese government ships refrain from entering Japan's territorial sea and contiguous zone around the Senkaku Islands. As for Hong Kong, where the clash between civil protesters and police continues, Abe asked Xi to handle the situation in a level-headed manner, saying that the international community is closely watching the situation with concern.
Following Abe's visit to China in October last year and other events, the Japanese and Chinese governments emphasized that the bilateral relationship "has gotten back on a normal track." While the two leaders aim to establish a "new era" for the Japan-China relationship, there is no sign of progress in the pending issues, prompting opposition in Japan against Xi's visit as a state guest.
Issues pile up
Harboring intentions of asking China to contribute efforts in creating an environment for Xi's visit to Japan as a state guest, Abe directly asked Xi to deal with issues such as the Senkakus and Hong Kong in a level-headed manner.
While Xi did not make a concession concerning Hong Kong -- stating it is an internal affair for China -- he mentioned regarding the Senkaku Islands that China is willing to work on the issue by including further exchanges between defense authorities to transform the East China Sea into a sea of peace, cooperation and friendship. With the opposition in Japan in mind, Xi might have refrained from taking a hard-line stance.
A record high of 1,077 Chinese government ships have been confirmed in Japan's contiguous zone about the Senkaku Islands from the beginning of this year through Dec. 23. Over the same period, 122 vessels have been confirmed to have intruded into Japan's territorial waters, greatly surpassing the 70 confirmed last year.
In China, there are a series of cases involving detention of Japanese people. In September this year, Hokkaido University Prof. Nobu Iwatani was temporarily arrested on suspicion of spying during his visit to China as an invitee of a Chinese government-affiliated research institute. The arrest cast a large shadow over the academic and cultural exchanges between the two countries. Since 2015, at least 15 Japanese people have been arrested in China, with nine receiving prison sentences.
In recent years, more and more Japanese people believe China is a threat. According to an opinion survey conducted by the Cabinet Office, about 76 percent of respondents said they did not think the Japan-China relationship was good. Some Japanese government officials said that the bilateral relationship peaked in October 2018 when Abe visited China, and has begun deteriorating.
Explaining why Xi will be invited as a state guest, Abe said that both Japan and China have great responsibilities for the peace and stability of Asia and the world. However, the success of Xi's visit will depend on whether the Chinese government is aware of its responsibility or not.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
