Shinzo Abe and Xi Jinping ‘pledge Japan and China will deepen cooperation’
Abe says after the two leaders meet at Russia’s Eastern Economic Forum plans are advancing for a first visit to Beijing by a Japanese prime minister since 2011
The leaders of China and Japan have pledged to speed up cooperation in the latest sign that the two Asian rivals are mending ties strained by territorial and historical disputes.
On the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok, Chinese President Xi Jinping told Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that the two countries should “firmly defend multilateralism, the free trade system and the rules of the World Trade Organisation to push forward an open global economy”, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.
“As major economic powers of the region, China and Japan should take the responsibility to play constructive roles in safeguarding peace, stability, development and prosperity of the region and the world.”
Relations between China and Japan “are getting back on track” with great opportunities ahead for further improvement, Xi told Abe.
But the Chinese president urged Japan to properly handle “sensitive issues over history and Taiwan to forge a good atmosphere and to continue expanding common interest”.
Xi and Abe were in Vladivostok for a three-day summit hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin to promote investment in Russia’s far east.
