Japan and China are set to reload their relations amid Beijing’s stances with the US regarding the steel tariffs, Al Jazeera reported. The visit of Japanese prime minister is a symbol of warming ties between the Asian rivals.
Shinzo Abe will visit from October 25 to 27 and mark the 40th anniversary of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between China and Japan. According to the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, the upcoming Abe’s visit will boost the bilateral ties and ‘put bilateral cooperation back on the right track’. Japanese PM’s last visit to China was in 2011.
The Chinese foreign ministry underlines the importance of the warming relations between the countries, both they need work to “jointly uphold multilateralism and the free trade system”, especially amid trade difficulties with the US. During the recent month, China and the United States are mired in a trade war that the IMF said this week will affect global growth.
Shinzo Abe’s visit will coincide with the date of signing the Sino-Japanese friendship treaty on October 23, 1978. Although Chinese leader and Japanese PM have met numerous times over the last few years on the sidelines of international events, none of them has paid an official visit since 2010 and 2011 respectively.
Relations between China and Japan are softening
In 2012, relations between two Asian rivals soured over a territorial dispute over several tiny Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea. After years of tensions, PM Abe announced last month that he planned to visit China, and Japanese businesses expressed their full support for closer ties with China to boost trade.
Shinzo Abe met the Chinese President on the sidelines of an economic forum in Russia last month, he had invited President Xi to Japan
“Through this exchange of visits at the leaders’ level, I hope to raise Japan-China relations to a new stage. I am firmly determined in this regard,” Mr Abe added.
