As Tokyo acknowledged” challenges and concerns” in relationships, Chinese foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya was scheduled to meet with rival Wang Yi and other top leaders in Beijing on Wednesday for deals.
Iwaya’s second trip to China since becoming Japan’s leading minister earlier this year.
Although China and Japan are important dealing partners, strained relations between them have gotten worse over disputed territory and increased military spending.
Tensions also erupted last year as a result of Japan’s decision to begin releasing some of the 540 Olympic swimming pools ‘ worth of reactor cooling water into the Pacific Ocean, which the UN atomic agency deemed safe.
China branded the shift” arrogant” and banned all Chinese seafood goods, but in September said it would “gradually profile” the business.
According to customs data, China imported more than$ 500 million worth of seafood from Japan in 2022.
Iwaya stated to writers in Tokyo on Tuesday that” China represents one of the most significant diplomatic ties for us.”
” Between Japan and China, there are various options but also many challenges and concerns”, he said.
Both nations are responsible for the stability and peace of our location and the international community, he added.
China’s overseas government said Beijing sought to” develop dialogue and contact” in order to “properly control differences” with Japan.
Beijing will” try to create a productive and secure China-Japan marriage that meets the needs of the new era,” according to spokesperson Mao Ning.
Longstanding hostilities
A painful stage is still present in Japan’s terrible occupation of some of China both prior to and during World War II, with Beijing accusing Tokyo of failing to make amends for its past.
Beijing frequently resents visits by Chinese officials to the Yasukuni shrine, which honors war dying, including those who have been convicted of war crimes.
Beijing’s more forceful appearance around disputed territories in the region, however, has sparked Tokyo’s indignation, leading it to increase security ties with vital ally the United States and other countries.
A Chinese military aircraft made its first official entry into Japanese airspace in August, followed by a Japanese warship sailing through the Taiwan Strait for the first time weeks later.
Tokyo, which claimed it had not been given advance notice, also voiced strong protests against Beijing’s rare test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean in late September.
A Japanese man who had been detained since last year is now facing espionage charges was officially indicted by China in August.
The man, an Astellas employee, was detained in March of last year and placed under formal arrest in October.
