Japan’s prime minister arrived in China yesterday for a two-day visit aimed at laying stronger foundations for cooperation between the historic Asian rivals, amid global economic and health crises.
Prime Minister Taro Aso, on his first state visit to China, was scheduled to meet Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) yesterday and President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) today, despite flare-ups over long-standing issues.
Aso last week upset China with an offering to Tokyo’s controversial Yasukuni war shrine, and Japan’s foreign minister chided Beijing over its nuclear weapons program.
China’s angry responses highlighted the sensitive nature of the relationship, with Beijing remembering Japan’s past wartime abuses and Tokyo looking warily at China’s rising might.
But analysts said Asia’s two biggest economies would seek pragmatic ways to tackle mutual threats.
They were expected to discuss a range of issues from measures to combat a deadly strain of swine flu to North Korea’s nuclear ambitions to cooperation and dispute settlement in economic issues.
The summit aims to “nurture individual trust between the leaders ... and to promote friendly national sentiment toward each other,” said Akio Takahara, a professor of Chinese politics at the University of Tokyo. “The two countries are already important partners on the economic front and in security.”
Ties have generally warmed significantly since the era of former Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi, who infuriated China with his annual visits to the Yasukuni shrine.
China suspended top-level talks with Japan during Koizumi’s 2001 to 2006 tenure and only resumed dialogue after Shinzo Abe took over as prime minister and refrained from making similar visits.
One of the most pressing bilateral challenges is the global downturn. The two nations have said they must work together to face the crisis, as well as for longer-term economic development.
“China needs Japan’s investment and technologies for its development, especially related to energy efficiency and environmental protection,” Takahara said.
North Korea’s controversial nuclear weapons program will also be on the agenda.
Japan, with the US, led a push to punish North Korea after it launched a rocket over Japanese territory early this month, while the regime’s communist ally China, and Russia, favored a softer line.
The military is to begin conscripting civilians next year, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said yesterday, citing rising tensions with Thailand as the reason for activating a long-dormant mandatory enlistment law. The Cambodian parliament in 2006 approved a law that would require all Cambodians aged 18 to 30 to serve in the military for 18 months, although it has never been enforced. Relations with Thailand have been tense since May, when a long-standing territorial dispute boiled over into cross-border clashes, killing one Cambodian soldier. “This episode of confrontation is a lesson for us and is an opportunity for us to review, assess and
The Russian minister of foreign affairs warned the US, South Korea and Japan against forming a security partnership targeting North Korea as he visited the ally country for talks on further solidifying their booming military and other cooperation. Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov spoke on Saturday in Wonsan City, North Korea, where he met North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un and conveyed greetings from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kim during the meeting reaffirmed his government’s commitment to “unconditionally support and encourage all measures” taken by Russia in its conflict with Ukraine. Pyongyang and Moscow share identical views on “all strategic issues in
‘FALSE NARRATIVE’: China and the Solomon Islands inked a secretive security pact in 2022, which is believed to be a prelude to building a Chinese base, which Beijing denied The Australian government yesterday said it expects China to spy on major military drills it is conducting with the US and other allies. It also renewed a charge — denounced by Beijing as a “false narrative” — that China wants to establish a military base in the South Pacific. The comments by a government minister came as Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a six-day visit to China to bolster recently repaired trade ties. More than 30,000 military personnel from 19 nations are set to join in the annual Talisman Sabre exercises from yesterday across Australia and Papua New Guinea. “The Chinese military have
The US Department of Education on Tuesday said it opened a foreign funding investigation into the University of Michigan (UM) while alleging it found “inaccurate and incomplete disclosures” in a review of the university’s foreign reports, after two Chinese scientists linked to the school were separately charged with smuggling biological materials into the US. As part of the investigation, the department asked the university to share, within 30 days, tax records related to foreign funding, a list of foreign gifts, grants and contracts with any foreign source, and other documents, the department said in a statement and in a letter to
RSS