The Japan - China High Level Economic Dialogue was organized for the first time in eight years in Tokyo, Japan, on April 16th.
The 4th high level economic dialogue was co-chaired by Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that the dialogue was restarted after an eight-year hiatus, amid improvement in bilateral relationship.
“The dialogue was a huge step toward improving the bilateral relationship,” Japanese Foreign Minister Kono said. “We look forward to developing our economic cooperation.”
Over the two days of the talks, much more than just trade policy has been on the table.
Japanese Foreign Minister Kono expressed the hope of the Japanese government that the two countries can work together to address concerns regarding the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
Prior to the dialogue, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono on April 15th met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, and the two diplomats agreed to promote mutual visits by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jin-ping.
"I hope this will be an important step toward returning China - Japan relations to a normal track," Mr. Wang told reporters, after arriving in Japan ahead of his meeting and working dinner with Mr. Kono.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi is the first Chinese Foreign Minister to visit Japan in a bilateral context in nine years. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping last year promised to reset the sometimes fraught relations between Asia’s two largest economies.
The talks between the two diplomats came ahead of a summit between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea (RoK) this month, and a meeting between DPRK’s leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump.
President Kim Jong-un is scheduled to meet with the RoK President Moon Jae-in on April 27th, the first meeting between the leaders of the two sides in a decade.
Mr Trump also said he would meet the DPRK’s leader in May or early June, where he hopes to reach an agreement on denuclearization with the Pyongyang regime./.
CPV
