New Delhi: The foreign ministers of China and Japan, the two opposed economies of Asia, have met among themselves. After many years, the Foreign Minister of Japan reached China. Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Sunday urged his Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi not to support the US technical sanctions. On Tokyo’s support for the US-led Indo-Pacific strategy, the Chinese Foreign Minister said that it should not help any villain by supporting US technical sanctions against Beijing.
Should not help the villain
The Chinese Foreign Minister said that the US has used intimidation tactics to brutally suppress the Japanese semiconductor industry. After this, he is now repeating his old tricks against us. According to media reports, Qin said that Japan has suffered that pain. In such a situation, it should not help any villain who wants to join him in doing evil.
Appeal to Japan to come together
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin appealed to his Japanese counterpart to end the ongoing dispute between the two countries and move forward. He said that both countries should remove the barriers and move forward. During this, Qin also said that coming together with some countries and establishing control does not help manage conflicts. China’s remarks came in the context of Japan’s support for America’s Indo-Pacific strategy.
Opposed the quad
China opposes the Quad comprising the US, India, Japan, and Australia, saying it aims to prevent its rise. He said that peaceful coexistence and friendly cooperation is the only correct choice for China-Japan relations.
He said that in the face of contradictions and differences, creating factions, and exerting pressure through rhetoric will not help in solving the problem, but will only deepen the estrangement between each other. He said that we hope that Japan will establish a correct understanding of China. At the same time, China will work closely with China to strengthen dialogue and communication and promote practical cooperation. Significantly, the talks between the two ministers took place two days after Japan announced that it would ban semiconductor equipment exports from July.
This is the first visit to Japan abroad after 2019
This is the first visit of a Japanese foreign minister to China since 2019. The last visit was to Hayashi’s predecessor Toshimitsu Motegi. After this, due to Covid-19, China closed its borders. China reopened the country to international travelers earlier this year.
According to Japanese media reports, Hayashi’s talks with Qin lasted about four hours. It was more than two and a half hours behind schedule. During this, both ministers also agreed to resume the trilateral dialogue with South Korea. Hayashi also met with Premier Li Qiang and had dinner with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi.
China, Japan, and Taiwan claim the islands as their own
There has been a long-standing dispute between China and Japan over Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea. China claims these islands as its own.
Japan and Taiwan maintain close defense ties
These islands are known by Japan as the Senkakus, while China names them the Diaoyu. Taiwan also claims these islands. However, it has agreed with Japan to avoid any conflict, as Japan maintains close defense ties with Taipei. The hotline announced by the Chinese Defense Ministry assumes significance as the navies and air forces of both countries aggressively patrolled the islands to assert their claims.
