A Japan visit by China’s top diplomat Wang Yi in February has been studied by the two governments, several diplomatic sources said Thursday, with the trip, if realized, to become the first by a Chinese foreign minister since November 2020.
The two countries also plan to hold a bilateral high-level economic dialogue for the first time in about six years during Wang’s visit, while exploring the possibility of organizing a trilateral meeting involving foreign ministers of Japan, China and South Korea around the same time, the sources said.
On Wednesday, Wang agreed with his Japanese counterpart Takeshi Iwaya in Beijing to proceed with concrete coordination for his visit to Japan “at the earliest appropriate timing next year.”
Wang Yi (Kyodo)
During his Japan trip, the top Chinese diplomat is expected to hold talks with Iwaya and ask Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to make the first China visit by a leader of Japan since 2019, when then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe went to Beijing and Chengdu.
China has been eager to improve its relations with Japan and South Korea to boost trade and investment as it foresees a possible negative impact on its economy from an intensifying rivalry with the United States after the return of President-elect Donald Trump to the White House, observers say.
Japan has sounded China and South Korea out on a plan to hold a trilateral foreign ministers’ meeting in early February following the Chinese New Year holiday through Feb. 4. Beijing has said it will study the plan, while Seoul showed readiness to accept it, according to diplomatic sources.
China has asked Japan to hold bilateral foreign ministers’ talks on the occasion of the three-way meeting, which is expected to cover economic cooperation and promotion of people-to-people exchanges as well as the schedule for a summit of the three countries’ leaders, the sources added.
Tokyo aims to hold the trilateral summit in the first half of 2025, but it remains unclear whether the gathering can be realized as planned amid ongoing political turmoil in South Korea. President Yoon Suk Yeol’s authority was suspended after parliament passed an impeachment motion against him on Dec. 14 following his imposition of martial law early this month that caused a public uproar.
A Japan-China high-level economic dialogue was last held in Beijing in April 2019.
The upcoming dialogue possibly involving a visit to Japan by Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao is expected to cover the restart of China’s Japanese seafood imports that have been banned since the treated radioactive water release into the Pacific Ocean began from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in August 2023.
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