BEIJING - China and Japan on Friday
pledged to forge closer ties as both countries stood together at
an "historic turning point", signing a broad range of agreements
including a $30 billion currency swap pact, amid rising trade
tensions with Washington.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese Premier Li
Keqiang also agreed the two countries would work together to
achieve denuclearisation on the Korean Peninsula.
The pacts were reached on Abe's three-day visit to Beijing
as the two neighbours looked to carve out new areas of
cooperation and seek ways to promote trust, which has been
fragile at times since diplomatic relations resumed in 1972.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said 500 business deals worth $18
billion had been signed between Chinese and Japanese companies
during the visit, a reflection of the "bright prospects" for
cooperation between the two countries.
"From competition to co-existence, Japan and China bilateral
relations have entered a new phase. Hand in hand with Premier
Li, I would like to advance our ties forward," Abe told
reporters after the pair met on Friday morning.
Both countries are neighbours and partners, and will not
become a threat to each other, Abe said after meeting with
President Xi Jinping on Friday in the first full-scale
Sino-Japanese summit since 2011.
"With President Xi Jinping, I would like to carve out a new
era for China and Japan," Abe said.
Xi said bilateral ties had returned to the right track and
China would ensure the positive momentum continues, according to
state media.
"That is worth cherishing by both sides," Xi said.
Both sides should undertake more in-depth strategic
dialogue, Xi said, adding that exchanges between ordinary
Japanese and Chinese people should also be stepped up to foster
deeper mutual understanding.
"Both sides should accurately grasp each other's strategic
intent, and implement what was agreed - that both sides will
become partners, both sides will pose no threats to each other,"
Xi said.
TERRITORIAL DISPUTE
Abe returned to power in 2012 when Sino-Japanese ties were
in tatters due to a feud over East China Sea islands, and the
territorial dispute remains a key source of friction between the
two countries.
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasutoshi Nishimura told
reporters in Beijing that Abe told Li during their meeting that
there would be "no genuine improvement" in bilateral ties unless
there was "stability in the East China Sea".
Japanese firms including big auto companies like Toyota
hope to see normalised ties with China so they can
compete with U.S. and European rivals, while Beijing expects
Tokyo's endorsement of its ambitious Belt and Road programme, an
initiative that Xi hopes will further boost trade and transport
links with other countries.
Abe also said Tokyo was "determined" to normalise diplomatic
relations with Pyongyang, but only if preconditions were met,
including denuclearisation and the release of kidnapped Japanese
citizens.
"Our two countries bear large responsibility in achieving
peace and stability in this region," Abe said.
Efforts in advancing China-Japan ties should "persevere
unremittingly to prevent the appearance of new twists and turns"
so that previous efforts did not go to waste, said Li at a joint
briefing with Abe on Friday.
"The Chinese side is willing to work with the Japanese side
to return to a normal track, and maintain the stable, sustained
and healthy development of bilateral relations," he said, adding
that he had held candid discussions with Abe since his arrival
on matters of mutual concerns.
They reached consensus, Li said, that safeguarding long-term
healthy and stable China-Japan ties was in accordance with the
interests of both countries and the region and the world.
The move to boost economic ties came as China and the United
States slap tit-for-tat tariffs on each other in recent months.
Japan is at risk as it exports to China manufacturing equipment
and electronic parts, which are used to make finished goods for
the United States and other markets.
While Japan, worried about China's growing naval power, is
keen for closer economic ties with its biggest trading partner,
it must manage that rapprochement without upsetting its key
security ally, the United States, with which it has trade
problems of its own.
Ahead of the briefing, China and Japan signed an agreement
to prepare yearly plans for talks, dialogues and exchanges, as
well as a pact to step up cooperation in innovation.
They also agreed to boost cooperation in the securities
markets including the listing of exchange-trade funds (ETFs),
and facilitate smoother customs clearance.
The sides signed a currency swap agreement of up to 3.4
trillion yen ($30.29 billion), effective until 2021. They also
inked a deal towards establishing a yuan clearing bank.
Li said both sides had agreed that as major countries, China
and Japan should uphold free trade and accelerate talks on the
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and on a
China-Japan-Korea trade zone.
RCEP is a free trade agreement proposed by China with
Southeast Asia and various countries on the Pacific Rim
including Japan.
- Additional reporting by Zhang Min