Handling of Taiwan issue bears on bilateral ties, China tells Japan

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – China’s President Xi Jinping has said handling of the major issues including Taiwan will have an impact on bilateral relations with Japan.

“The handling of major issues of principle such as history and Taiwan bears on the political foundation of bilateral ties. Japan must honor its commitment and make sure that the foundation of China-Japan relations will not be undermined or shaken,” Xi told Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in San Francisco on Thursday.

The two leaders attended the summit meeting of 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, hosted by the US.

The Chinese leader said Beijing and Tokyo “need to deepen cooperation, contribute to each other’s success, uphold the global free trade system, and achieve an even higher level of win-win.”

Xi and Kishida “reiterated commitment to the principles and consensus in the four political documents between China and Japan,” said Hua Chunying, spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

“They reaffirmed the agreement to promote a strategic relationship of mutual benefit in an all-round way,” Hua said on X.

According to Tokyo-based Kyodo News, Kishida said the both nations need to build a “stable and constructive” relationship.

“The international community is at a historic turning point where confrontation and cooperation are woven in a complicated manner,” Kishida said.

“In that environment, Japan and China, as neighbors that share a long history and ever-lasting future, and as major global powers, have the responsibility of contributing to global peace and prosperity,” Kishida told Xi.