China, Japan mark 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations

ANKARA (AA) – China and Japan on Thursday marked the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations amid ongoing territorial tension.

The main event was arranged by the Japan Business Federation where messages from the top leaders of both countries were read out, according to Kyodo News Agency.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in his message said his country wanted constructive and stable ties with Beijing for peace and prosperity of the region and world.

President Xi Jinping also expressed a desire to deepen ties with Japan in all fields.

“Beijing will deepen cooperation with Tokyo in every field to answer the needs of a new era,” the agency quoted Xi as saying in his message.

Beijing and Tokyo are locked in a dispute over the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands, which Beijing claims and calls the Diaoyu Islands.

On Wednesday, Japan accused China of sending ships into its territorial waters around a chain of disputed islands.

Tokyo said it marked the 27th time this year that Chinese ships have been spotted entering Japanese territorial waters off the islands.

The Japan Coast Guard claimed that it spotted Chinese ships near the islets in the East China Sea over the past two weeks.

On Tuesday, Japan's Defense Ministry said seven Chinese and Russian naval ships sailed near the Izu Islands south of Tokyo in the Pacific Ocean which they believed to be part of a joint patrol, according to the agency.

However, despite the territorial dispute, China is Japan’s biggest trading partner.

Though Kishida spoke with Xi in October 2021 when he took office, the two leaders did not meet in the last three years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the report said.

* Writing by Islamuddin Sajid