Xi Jinping - Ishiba First Meeting, "Discussing Common Interests... Concerns Over China's Military Activities"

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba reaffirmed their commitment to advancing a "strategic reciprocal relationship" that expands the common interests of both countries. The two leaders also shared concerns about China's military activities and agreed to steadily implement the early resumption of imports of Japanese seafood products.

According to NHK on the 15th (local time), President Xi and Prime Minister Ishiba held a bilateral summit for about 30 minutes in Lima, Peru, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

Kyodo News

At the meeting, Prime Minister Ishiba stated, "While there is growing potential for development between the two countries, there are also many challenges and issues. It is of great significance to the international community that both countries share the broad direction of comprehensively promoting a strategic reciprocal relationship and building a constructive and stable relationship."

Regarding the situation in the East China Sea and China's active military activities, Prime Minister Ishiba expressed to President Xi that he is "very concerned." In August, Chinese military aircraft intruded into Japanese airspace for the first time ever, prompting a strong protest from the Japanese government.

Prime Minister Ishiba also demanded the early resumption of imports of Japanese seafood products from China, which had been suspended since the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in August last year. The two leaders confirmed their intention to steadily implement the agreement to resume imports.

Additionally, concerning the incident in September in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China, where a Japanese schoolchild was attacked and killed, Japan requested the safety of Japanese nationals in China. President Xi responded by saying, "We will ensure the safety of all foreigners, including Japanese."

President Xi emphasized, "China and Japan are close neighbors and important countries in Asia and the world, and the relationship between the two countries holds significance beyond the bilateral level." He also highly praised Prime Minister Ishiba's statement that since taking office, he will comprehensively develop the China-Japan strategic relationship based on mutual benefits to bring more advantages to the peoples of both countries.

This was the first meeting between newly inaugurated Prime Minister Ishiba and President Xi. It was the first China-Japan summit in a year since the meeting between then-Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and President Xi in November last year. Earlier, on the occasion of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) summit, Prime Minister Ishiba held talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Laos on the 10th of last month.