China, Japan vow closer ties amid N. Korea threat

TOKYO: Asian rivals China and Japan yesterday pledged a “new starting point” for bilateral ties, vowing close cooperation amid a flurry of diplomacy on the North Korean missile threat and global trade tensions.

Welcoming Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi for a rare threeday visit, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for warmer relations between the two countries and said they should work together on North Korea.

Abe said he would be visiting the United States for talks with President Donald Trump to seek the “complete and irreversible denuclearisation” of North Korea, adding that “we want to cooperate with China”.

“We hope to develop a strategic, mutually beneficial Japan-China relationship in various fields.”

After meeting Abe, Wang told reporters that Beijing wanted to place “Sino-Japanese cooperation at a new starting point” and cooperate on energy, financial and environmental issues.

Tokyo is battling to stay relevant amid a string of summits on North Korea’s nuclear programme in which Beijing is likely to be a major player.

With this in mind, Japan is pushing to host a trilateral meeting between Abe, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

Abe said this would be held “after Golden Week”, a series of national holidays that end on May 6.

Bilateral visits by Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping are also being planned.

China showed its influence over the North when Xi hosted its leader, Kim Jong-un, and his wife in Beijing last month.