Chinese Premier Li Keqiang welcomes Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Beijing for the first ever China-Japan summit since 2011. One of the goals of this historic meet is for the two countries to renew their pact of friendship and cooperation as well as their commitment to uphold global free trade while opposing the multilateralism and protectionism set by the United States.
The head of the Japanese government arrived in the country on Thursday. This would be the first formal summit conducted in seven years as the two regional rivals look to improve their ties while the trade friction with the United States looms in the distance.
Abe's three-day visit to the Chinese capital is part of the on-going joint efforts between the two major Asian economies to establish economic and trade cooperation. More than so, the summit is expected to promote peace and mutual trust between the two nations, according to Reuters.
In a press conference held before the Beijing meeting, Abe said that Japan's bilateral relations with China are now taking what he calls a historic turning point. The PM is hopeful that this could usher in new opportunities for industries such as infrastructure, logistics, healthcare as well as finance, to flourish in each side of the border.
A separate report from the news agency indicated that Beijing and Tokyo are now set to sign around 50 project memoranda of understanding. The projects range from the aforementioned sectors while adding energy and automobile industries into the list, the draft document seen by Reuters said.
Premier Li, meanwhile, confirmed that the Chinese side is more than willing to cooperate with their Asian counterparts in their efforts to maintain a stable, sustainable, and healthy development of bilateral relations.
Li further revealed that he and Abe had held candid discussions concerning matters of mutual interests since the arrival of the Japanese leader in the capital.
In one of their discussions, Li and Abe came into an agreement that indeed, safeguarding the burgeoning China-Japan ties will not only benefit the involved parties but also the Asian region and the world itself.
Balancing Relations
While Japan's relations with China are clearly improving as manifested in Abe's Beijing trip, a report from CNBC meanwhile pointed out that this could put Tokyo in a very tricky situation.
While it's no longer a secret that China and USA are now at odds against each other, Japan finds itself right in the middle of things.
It is of Japan's best interest to maintain and further improve its relationship with China, its biggest trading partner, and ally. Still, it has to look after its ties with Washington for security.
As pointed out by political analysts, navigating between the two superpowers is definitely a challenge for the Abe administration.
