China and Japan leaders Hold First Meeting to Address Key Regional Issues

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba met at the APEC Summit in Peru, with China urging Japan to address issues such as Taiwan. Ishiba sought for better safeguards for Japanese nationals and the lifting of China’s seafood import ban.

Chinese President Xi Jinping told Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba during their first meeting that China hoped Japan would “properly handle” sensitive issues such as history and Taiwan, Chinese state media reported Saturday.

Meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in Lima, Peru, Xi also urged the two countries to safeguard the global free trade system and ensure stable, unimpeded production and supply chains.

Ishiba expressed a desire for a “constructive and stable” relationship but raised concerns about China’s seafood import ban, recent fatal stabbings affecting Japanese nationals in China, and Beijing’s maritime activities. According to Japan’s account of the meeting, he also urged Xi to release detained Japanese nationals.

This marked the first meeting between Ishiba, who assumed office in October, and the long-serving Chinese leader.

Chinese and Japanese officials have recently resumed consultative talks after years of strained ties over territorial disputes, trade tensions, and Japan’s decision to release treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant, which prompted China’s seafood import ban.

Tensions have also been heightened by recent anti-Japanese sentiment in China following two stabbing incidents, including the killing of a Japanese schoolboy in September and a June attack where a Chinese woman protecting a Japanese mother and child was killed.

The meeting follows Friday’s trilateral talks between the U.S., Japan, and South Korea, aimed at solidifying alliances ahead of Donald Trump’s U.S. presidency, which could disrupt established partnerships.

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