President encounters Japanese leader in St. Petersburg before summit <\/p>\n
Japan should handle sensitive issues including the Diaoyu Islands in a correct way to control divergence and seek a resolution, Chinese President Xi Jinping told Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday. <\/p>\n
Instead of an official bilateral meeting, Xi encountered Abe in the VIP room for participating leaders and had a brief talk before the 8th G20 Leaders' Summit was held in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Thursday. <\/p>\n
China-Japan ties are facing grave difficulties, which \"we are unwilling to see\", Xi said. \"The Chinese side is willing to further advance the China-Japan strategic ties of mutual benefit on the basis of the four Chinese-Japanese political documents.\" <\/p>\n
Tokyo's policymakers embarked on a media campaign two weeks ago to accuse Beijing of being reluctant about the first encounter of the two leaders after Abe and Xi assumed office. <\/p>\n
The Japanese side had hoped to force Beijing to change policy and make a concession on the standoff during the international summit, but failed, observers said. <\/p>\n
\"Japan should face up to history and keep an eye on the future, correctly deal with such sensitive issues as the Diaoyu Islands and history issues, and seek a way to properly manage differences and address the problems,\" Xi said. <\/p>\n
Abe said he had been looking forward to seeing Xi, adding: \"I am eager to improve Japan-China relations.\" <\/p>\n
Tokyo's goal was simply realizing \"the meeting itself rather than anything of substance\", said Lu Yaodong, director of the department of Japanese diplomacy of the Institute of Japanese Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. <\/p>\n
\"Tokyo had not prepared any substantial proposal but empty phrases for the so-called Japan-China leaders encounter. The brief talk on Thursday definitely ended up with no substance provided by Abe,\" Lu said. <\/p>\n
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Xi warns Abe over Diaoyu Islands<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" President encounters Japanese leader in St. Continue reading