Beijing diplomat urges China and Japan to take long view on tense ties to manage friction

Visiting Japanese delegate expresses concern over recent PLA incursion; veteran Chinese diplomat says relations are at a critical point

China-Japan relations

Alyssa Chen

Published: 3:31pm, 28 Aug 2024

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Veteran Chinese diplomat Liu Jianchao has urged visiting Japanese lawmakers to take “a long-term perspective” on ties between the two countries and to manage their differences constructively.

Meeting a cross-party delegation from the Japan-China Friendship Parliamentarians’ Union on Tuesday, Liu said relations were at a critical point.

“It is hoped that both sides will approach Sino-Japanese relations from a broader and long-term perspective, enhance strategic communications and cooperation in various fields, and manage differences constructively,” Liu was quoted as saying.

He also expressed a desire for increased dialogue and exchange visits from all Japanese political factions to China to improve strategic communication and mutual understanding.

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Liu is head of the International Department for China’s ruling Communist Party, and the group from Japan is led by Toshihiro Nikai – a House of Representatives member and a heavyweight in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

The group is on a three-day trip and met the head of China’s top legislative body, Zhao Leji, on Wednesday morning.

During that meeting, Nikai said an airspace intrusion by Chinese military aircraft earlier this week was regrettable, according to Jiji Press news agency.

Ties between the two Asian powerhouses had frayed over an array of issues, including Tokyo’s tilt towards US-led regional security architecture aimed at countering China and the release of treated radioactive waste water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The neighbours are also at odds over the Diaoyu Islands, the uninhabited islets controlled by Tokyo that the Japanese call the Senkakus.

According to a Chinese statement, Nikai said the visit was intended to help improve communication between the two countries.

“We aim to foster deeper dialogue with China, promote stronger communication between related departments of both countries, and create favourable conditions for resolving differences and enhancing cooperation in politics, economy, culture, and tourism,” the Chinese department quoted Nikai as saying.

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The Chinese statement did not say what was discussed at the meeting, but the Japanese lawmakers reportedly sought a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Likely topics of the talks include China’s ban on Japanese seafood imports, the reinstatement of pre-pandemic visa-free entry for short-term visits by Japanese, and the detention in China of Japanese nationals on spying charges.

Yoshimasa Hayashi, Japan’s chief government spokesman, said on Tuesday that he hoped the visit – the first by the union in five years – could further strengthen multilayered exchanges and communication between Beijing and Tokyo.

Diplomatic experts have worried about the lack of exchanges between Beijing and Tokyo, given the LDP’s election next month for a new party president who will become the country’s next prime minister.

In May, Liu led a delegation to Japan and agreed to restart regular discussions between the ruling parties for the first time in six years. In July, Hiroshi Moriyama, chairman of the LDP’s decision-making general council, visited China and met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who advocated for enhanced communication and cooperation.

Furthermore, Japanese Health Minister Keizo Takemi visited China last month, leading to an agreement to cooperate on managing future infectious diseases.

Also in July, Chinese foreign vice-minister Ma Zhaoxu re-initiated the China-Japan strategic dialogue with his Japanese counterpart in Tokyo after a four-year hiatus and met Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, when the two held a “candid and in-depth” dialogue.