Premier Li expected to visit Hokkaido

BEIJING: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is expected to visit Hokkaido after attending a trilateral summit in Tokyo with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts early next month, diplomatic sources said on Saturday.

Mr Li, who was reappointed to a second five-year term as China’s head of government last month, may also deliver a speech at an event in the Japanese capital to mark the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the two nations, sources said.

In the northernmost main island of Hokkaido, Mr Li is scheduled to join a conference that local political leaders are to participate in, the sources added.

Mr Li is to be invited by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government as an official working guest, which is a step down from a state guest or official guest. However, Mr Li is set to have have an audience with Emperor Akihito included in his itinerary, the sources said.

The last Chinese premier to make an official visit to Japan was then Premier Wen Jiabao in May 2011. During his trip, Wen visited Fukushima Prefecture and other areas hit by the deadly earthquake and tsunami in March that year.

Mr Li is expected to attend the trilateral summit with Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae In on the morning of May 9 and hold bilateral talks with Abe in the afternoon, the sources said.

The two leaders may agree on the implementation of a “Maritime and Aerial Communication Mechanism” in the East China Sea.

The mechanism is aimed at avoiding unintended clashes in the contentious body of water, where China challenges the sovereignty of the Tokyo-controlled Senkaku Islands, a group of uninhabited islets called Diaoyu in Beijing.

On May 10th, Mr Li is expected to take part in a reception, hosted by business leaders in Tokyo following which Mr Li will visit Hokkaido before his return to China to mark the 10th anniversary of the devastating 2008 Sichuan earthquake.