Xi Jinping of China and Shinzo Abe of Japan Meet Amid Slight Thaw in Ties
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Version 0 of 1. BEIJING — China’s president, Xi Jinping, and Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, met in Indonesia on Wednesday, a signal of a continued slight warming in relations that still remain frosty between Asia’s two biggest economies. The two leaders were attending a gathering of Asian and African nations to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Bandung Conference, which was attended by nations opposed to colonialism. The gathering was held in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta. The encounter in Jakarta, the second in the last five months between Mr. Xi and Mr. Abe, was not mentioned beforehand by the Chinese state-run news media, an apparent attempt to play down the meeting’s significance. The Chinese news media later reported that the meeting was held at the request of Japan. The two leaders met for about half an hour, about half the customary time for such diplomatic sessions. In Beijing last November, their meeting was also short. “The Sino-Japanese relationship is far from good,” said Shi Yinhong, professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing. “Xi still holds great distrust of Abe, and Abe has distrust of Xi.” But Mr. Xi and Mr. Abe agreed in November to open a dialogue, part of an effort to ratchet down the atmosphere of confrontation that has dominated relations since 2012, Mr. Shi said. The territorial issue that divides China and Japan — the sovereignty of a cluster of islands in the East China Sea — was probably not raised by either of the leaders because the gap was too profound, Mr. Shi said. The islands are known as the Diaoyu in China and as the Senkaku in Japan. Last November, the two countries released formal documents outlining their differences on the islands, hardened positions that would not be changed any time soon, diplomats said. China continues to send patrol boats into waters claimed by Japan near the islands. This month, Japan’s Defense Ministry reported repeated flights by Chinese aircraft near the islands and also near the southern Japanese island of Okinawa. The Chinese leader most likely raised the possibility of Japan joining the new China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank at a later stage, Mr. Shi said. Japan, along with the United States, is not a founding member of the bank, which has attracted more than 50 countries, including a majority of the Group of 20’s advanced economies. Mr. Abe, a conservative politician with a strong nationalist streak, is believed to be opposed to Japan joining the China-led bank, while members of his cabinet in charge of the economy have expressed modest interest. Mr. Abe is due in Washington this month, where he will address a joint session of Congress, and where he and President Obama are expected to emphasize the strength of the alliance between Japan and the United States. A Chinese expert on Japan said on Wednesday that Mr. Abe was most likely anxious to meet Mr. Xi in order to reassure the Obama administration. “Abe wants to tell Obama that, ‘I want to relax the tensions with China, I’m not a troublemaker in the relations with China and South Korea,’ ” said the expert, Huang Dahui, dean of the department of diplomacy at Renmin University. Earlier in the day, Mr. Abe told the gathering in Jakarta that in order to maintain the spirit of the Bandung Conference, large countries should keep their ambitions in check. In today’s context, Mr. Abe was apparently referring to China. “We should never allow to go unchecked the use of force by the mightier to twist the weaker around,” Mr. Abe said. “The wisdom of our forefathers in Bandung was that the rule of law should protect the dignity of sovereign nations, be they large or small.” Mr. Xi told Mr. Abe that he would like to improve communication with Japan and work with him so that the two countries did not pose a threat to each other, the state-run China National Radio said. |