Kishida and Xi hold summit in San Francisco

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a summit in San Francisco on Thursday, almost a year after their last meeting in November 2022. They reached a basic agreement to enhance bilateral cooperation. Still, they did not delve deeper into critical issues, such as the wastewater release from Japan's Fukushima nuclear plants and China's increasing military activities.

On Friday, Japan's NHK reported that Prime Minister Kishida urged China to promptly lift import restrictions on Japanese sea products imposed following the wastewater release in August 2022. In response, President Xi emphasized the global health impact of the wastewater issue and urged the Japanese government to address both local and international concerns related to the release.

Prime Minister Kishida expressed concerns about China's military activities with Russia near Japan and emphasized the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. He also urged China to promptly remove the floating barrier placed in the Exclusive Economic Zone within the disputed Senkaku Islands territory.

In response, President Xi stressed the importance of resolving disagreements based on shared interests and called for a revisit of strategic, mutually beneficial relations to rebuild bilateral ties in accordance with the demands of the new era. This remark is widely interpreted as underscoring China's strategic cooperation with Japan amid rising tension between the U.S. and China.


sanghun@donga.com