China-japan ties strengthening amid trade pressure by U.S.

BEIJING — Shared trade friction with the U.S. appears to be drawing longtime Asian rivals China and Japan closer, with Chinese President Xi Jinping telling Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday that the two countries are “sharing more common interests and concerns.”

China-japan relations have undergone turbulence but are now “back to a normal track,” Xi told Abe during the first formal visit to Beijing by a Japanese leader in nearly seven years.

Ties hit a low in 2012 during a dispute over East China Sea islands controlled by Japan but claimed by China.

While that feud remains unresolved, trade and investment have recovered, and companies from the two sides are exploring joint investments in third countries such as Thailand.

China has come under increasing pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump’s move to impose punitive tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese products. Beijing has responded with tariffs of its own, and no swift resolution appears likely.

Trump has also raised tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum from Japan and other countries and is threatening tariffs on Japanese autos and auto parts.

“In the past several years, the China-japan relationship has experienced ups and downs. With the efforts made by both parties, our relationship has been straightened out and come back to a normal track,” Xi said.

Abe responded that Japan believes the two countries should take a free and fair trade system to “a new level.”

“Based on these principles, Japan and China need to work together and contribute to what the world in a sense expects of us, toward the peace and stability of the region, and that of the world,” Abe said.

Xi is expected to visit Japan next year, with Abe returning to China to attend a trilateral summit of the leaders of China, Japan and South Korea.