China-Japan ties can improve through more communication

Relations between China and Japan are expected to further improve after the thaw in 2017. And Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono’s possible visit to China in late January, according to Japanese media reports, could herald more such endeavors, boosting bilateral relations.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent Toshihiro Nikai, secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, to Beijing in May to attend the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation on behalf of the Japanese government. Takaya Imai, Abe’s executive secretary and close confidant, was also in the Japanese delegation and met with Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi. Yang, in turn, visited Tokyo in late May, co-chairing the fourth round of China-Japan high-level political dialogue with Japan’s National Security Adviser Shotaro Yachi.

President Xi Jinping and Abe held talks on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, in July. And Abe made a surprise appearance at a gala hosted by the Chinese embassy in Tokyo on Sept 28 to celebrate China’s National Day (Oct 1) and the 45th anniversary of the normalization of the ChinaJapan diplomatic relations, becoming the first sitting Japanese prime minister to do so in 15 years.

On the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Danang, Vietnam, in November, Xi urged Abe to take more “practical actions” to improve ties with China and manage differences between the two sides in a “constructive way”. The two leaders, in effect, agreed to make a “new start” in bilateral relations.