Seafood trade is expected to be high on the agenda on Wednesday as Japan’s foreign minister visits China, Japan’s biggest export market for aquatic products, until Beijing sends treated radioactive wastewater from Tokyo. They were banned in protest against being released into the sea.
In Takeshi Ioya’s first visit to the Chinese capital since becoming Japan’s foreign minister in October, he will hold talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and meet other Chinese officials.
“I believe it is important to have tangible and tangible examples of the future prospects of Japan-China relations,” Avia said at the start of the meeting with Wang.
“It is important for both Japan and China to fulfill their responsibilities and move forward together for the peace and prosperity of the region and the international community,” he said.
Wang also stressed that the importance of the countries’ relations goes beyond bilateral relations.
“If China-Japan relations are stable, Asia will be more stable,” Wang said.
A major sticking point in bilateral relations has been Japan’s release of wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant. Beijing strongly opposed and condemned Tokyo’s decision and responded by tightening checks on Japanese goods.
China imposed a total ban last year after Japan released treated radioactive water, but the two governments reached an agreement in September that paved the way for the resumption of seafood shipments from Japan to China. will be determined.
of Japan Nicky China is considering lifting a ban on Japanese seafood imports, the newspaper reported this week.
But China still wants assurances from Tokyo that it will fulfill its commitment to establish a long-term international monitoring arrangement and allow stakeholders like China to independently sample and monitor treated water.
With sufficient monitoring, China will “adjust relevant measures” and gradually restore imports that meet standards and regulations, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Tuesday.
The one-day visit follows an agreement between the leaders of the two countries to work towards a mutually beneficial strategic relationship.
Relations between the neighbors are “in a critical period of improvement and development,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said last month when he met with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum in Lima, Peru.
Xi said the two should be “partners, not threats.”
Relations between China and Japan, trading partners with close economic and investment ties but rivals in security and territorial claims, are longstanding. are complicated by geopolitical differences and wartime historical sensitivities.
As the first Japanese foreign minister to visit since April last year, Aoya could express his country’s concerns about Chinese military activity around Japan as well as regional issues including North Korea.
Japan last month expressed “serious concern” over North Korea’s security alliance with Russia, in which North Korea stands to gain advanced military technology and combat experience.
Ukrainian and allied assessments show that Pyongyang has sent about 12,000 troops to support Russia’s war in Ukraine. Ukraine warned this week that North Korea could send more personnel and equipment to Moscow’s military.
On less sensitive topics, China could prepare Japan for cooperation on visa policies.
Last month, Beijing extended its visa-free arrangements to include Japan until the end of 2025, reviving a policy that was suspended during the pandemic.
China, which has been adding countries to its visa-free list, also extended the period of stay from 15 to 30 days. Before COVID-19, Japanese citizens could enter China without a visa for up to 14 days.
Japan has not decided on a reciprocal initiative, but China has said it hopes Japan will work to improve people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.