Status: 04/02/2023 3:24 p.m
The foreign ministers of Japan and China have met for talks for the first time in three years. It wasn’t about concrete decisions. One wanted to “overcome difficulties”, it was said after the meetings in Beijing.
Japan and China want to improve their cooperation again: At the first meeting of the foreign ministers of both countries in three years, Yoshimasa Hayashi and his new Chinese counterpart Qin Gang expressed the hope of being able to overcome difficulties and build stable relations.
Qin Gang urged Japan to have a “correct understanding of China”. Hayashi’s visit was the first visit by a Japanese foreign minister to China since late 2019. It was also the first face-to-face meeting between the two countries’ foreign ministers since 2020.
China criticizes Japan’s proximity to the US
Relations between the East Asian countries are tense. Japan increasingly views China as a threat and has had close ties to the US for decades. Beijing, which is expanding its ties with Russia, has criticized the Japan-US alliance. “Facing contradictions and differences, blocking, shouting and pressure will not help solve the problems, but will only deepen the alienation,” Qin Gang said at the meeting.
With the upcoming G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan in May, and Japan’s current G7 presidency, Qin Gang expressed hope that Japan would “rightly set the tone and direction of the meeting.” The communist leadership fears that decisions of the G7 meeting could also be directed against China. Beijing accuses the USA and its allies of wanting to slow down the rise of the world’s second largest economy.
Tensions in the East China Sea
Relations are also strained over competing territorial claims in the East China Sea and the build-up of the Japanese army. In Tokyo, Chinese rearmament, maneuvers and missile tests are viewed with suspicion.
Japanese arrested on espionage charges
During the talks, Japan’s foreign minister also protested against the arrest of an employee of a Japanese pharmaceutical company on charges of espionage in China and called for his immediate release. His counterpart countered that China would deal with the case “according to the law.” Hayashi called for a transparent legal process for the employee and, according to his own statements, appealed to his interlocutor to ensure a fair and safe environment for doing business in China.
A week ago, the Astellas Pharma employee was arrested in Beijing, according to the company. According to a report by the Japanese news agency Kyodo, at least 16 other Japanese have been arrested on charges of espionage in China since 2015.
Hayashi: China should work towards peace in Ukraine
Discussing Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, the Japanese foreign minister called for China to play a “responsible role” in working towards peace, the Kyodo news agency reported.
Since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, Russia and China have been working more closely together. While China benefits from cheap energy imports, Moscow is trying to balance Western sanctions with imports from China. The government in Beijing has never explicitly condemned the Russian invasion.