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Prime Minister Abe Visits China

Mr. Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, visited Beijing, China from October 25 to 27. This was the first visit to China by a Japanese Prime Minister in nearly seven years, excluding attendance at multilateral meetings.

Meeting with President Xi Jinping (Afternoon of October 26)
Prime Minister Abe once again stated that he would welcome President Xi's visit to Japan next year. President Xi expressed gratitude and responded that he will seriously consider it. In addition, Prime Minister Abe stated that he looked forward to returning to China for the Japan-China-ROK Trilateral Summit to be held in China next year.

Regarding people-to-people exchanges, the leaders shared the view that the increase in Chinese visitors to Japan in recent years has contributed to the diversification of Chinese people's sentiments towards Japan. Building on this development, the leaders shared the view on supporting people-to-people exchanges focusing on the young generation, while also make use of the hosting of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo and Beijing in 2020 and 2022, respectively.

The leaders welcomed the many achievements made through Premier Li's visit to Japan in May 2018 and Prime Minister Abe's visit to China this time, including business cooperation in third countries, the establishment of a new Japan-China dialogue to discuss the area of innovation and intellectual property rights, and the deepening of financial cooperation.

Prime Minister Abe once again requested the lifting of import restrictions on foods produced in Japan as early as possible.

In light of the termination of Japan's provision of new ODA to China, Prime Minister Abe stated that Japan would work shoulder to shoulder with China to pave an era for contributing to regional and global stability and prosperity, through dialogue and personnel exchanges in the area of development as well as cooperation on global issues. President Xi highly appreciated Japan's contribution through ODA and made positive remarks regarding such cooperation. In this context, the two sides shared the view that they would work together for the success of next year's Osaka G20 Summit.

Regarding the issue of the East China Sea, Prime Minister Abe reiterated Japan's understanding of the issue and requested improvement in the situation in the sea. The leaders shared the view that they would continue to strengthen communication and make efforts to avoid unintended consequences.

The leaders reaffirmed the importance of fully implementing the relevant UNSC resolutions towards the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, a common goal shared by Japan and China. Prime Minister Abe once again explained Japan's position regarding the abductions issue, and President Xi echoed Premier Li's response that he understands the issue and supports Japan.

In view of the current China-U.S. relationship, the leaders exchanged open discussion regarding the relationship with the United States. Prime Minister Abe explained Japan's position of contributing to peace and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region while making the alliance with the United States a cornerstone of its diplomacy and security.

In this context, President Xi explained the recent China-U.S. economic relationship. In response, Prime Minister Abe explained Japan's position of consistently attaching importance to multilateral free trade arrangements including the WTO as important, and noted that it is essential for China to make further improvements on issues including subsidies and intellectual property rights.