China, Japan ink pacts at vital ‘turning point’
Li Keqiang, Shinzo Abe hail cooperation amid threat of global trade war
BEIJING— China and Japan forged on Friday a broad range of agreements including a $30 billion currency swap pact as they hailed a “historic turning point” in their relations.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang also agreed the two countries wouldwork together to achieve denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.
Li said 500 business deals, worth $18 billion, were signed during Abe’s visit.
‘Advancing ties forward’
“From competition to coexistence, Japan and China bilateral relations have entered a new phase. Hand in hand with Premier Li, I would like to advance our ties forward,” Abe said.
Abe is expected to meet with President Xi Jinping later on Friday in the first full-scale SinoJapanese summit since 2011.
Abe returned to power in 2012 when Sino-Japanese ties were in tatters due to a feud over East China Sea islands.
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasutoshi Nishimura told reporters in Beijing that Abe told Li during their meeting that there would be “no genuine improvement” in bilateral ties unless there was “stability in the East China Sea.”
Japanese firms including big auto companies like Toyota hope to see normalized ties with China so they can compete with US and European rivals.
Beijing, on the other hand, expects Tokyo’s endorsement of its ambitious Belt and Road program, an initiative that Xi hopes will further boost trade and transport links with other countries.
Eyes at Koreas
Abe also said Tokyo was “determined” to normalize diplomatic relations with Pyongyang, provided it dismantles nuclear facilities and release kidnapped Japanese citizens.
“Our two countries bear large responsibility in achieving peace and stability in this region,” Abe said.
Efforts in advancing ChinaJapan ties should “persevere unremittingly to prevent the appearance of new twists and turns” so that previous efforts do not go to waste, said Li.
“The Chinese side is willing to work with the Japanese side to return to a normal track, and maintain the stable, sustained and healthy development of bilateral relations,” he said.
They reached consensus, Li said, that safeguarding long-term healthy and stable China-Japan ties was in accordance with the interests of both countries and the region, and the world.
The move to boost economic ties came as China and the United States slap tit-for-tat tariffs on each other in recent months.
Japan is also at risk as it exports to China manufacturing equipment and electronic parts, which are used to make finished goods for the United States and other markets.
While Japan, worried about China’s growing naval power, is keen for closer economic ties with its biggest trading partner, it must manage that rapprochement without upsetting the United States.
Yearly plan for talks
Ahead of the briefing, China and Japan signed an agreement to prepare yearly plans for talks, dialogues and exchanges, as well as a pact to step up cooperation in innovation.
They also agreed to boost cooperation in securities markets, including the listing of exchangetrade funds (ETFs), and facilitate smoother customs clearance.
The sides signed a currency swap agreement of up to $30.29 billion, effective until 2021. They also inked a deal towards establishing a yuan clearing bank.
Li said both sides had agreed to uphold free trade and accelerate talks on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership ( RCEP) and on a ChinaJapan-Korea trade zone.