 "In first meeting with Xi, Japan PM Takaichi voices ‘serious concerns’ on South China Sea and Xinjiang")
Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Friday said that she expressed “serious concerns” over the South China Sea, Hong Kong, and Xinjiang during her first meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, describing their exchange as “candid.”
The meeting — held on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea — marked the first face-to-face talks between the two leaders since Takaichi took office, and came just days after both met US President Donald Trump separately.
“I told President Xi that I wanted a strategic and mutually beneficial relationship between Japan and China,” AFP quoted Takaichi as telling reporters after the meeting.
She added that she had also raised “a number of thorny issues,” emphasising that “it is important for us to engage in direct, candid dialogue.”
According to Chinese state media, Xi told Takaichi — Japan’s first woman prime minister and a long-time China hawk — that he hoped her government would have a “correct understanding” of China.
Takaichi, known for her conservative views, has been a frequent visitor to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japan’s war dead, and has voiced strong support for Taiwan, calling for closer security cooperation with the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“We… expressed serious concerns regarding actions in the South China Sea, as well as the situations in Hong Kong and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region,” Takaichi was quoted as saying.
Beijing has long rejected accusations of human rights abuses against Uyghurs, insisting its Xinjiang policies have curbed extremism and spurred development.
China continues to assert sweeping sovereignty claims over the South China Sea, despite a 2016 international tribunal ruling that found no legal basis for them.
Takaichi said she also discussed with Xi the dispute over the Senkaku Islands — known as the Diaoyu in China — where Japanese and Chinese vessels frequently face off.
She raised concerns over export controls on critical materials such as rare earths, and urged the release of detained Japanese citizens while calling for assurances on the safety of Japanese nationals in China.
“I conveyed that we would like these matters to be addressed,” she said.
“Regarding Taiwan, there was some discussion from the Chinese side,” Takaichi said.
“I stated that for the stability and security in this region, maintaining good cross-strait relations is important,” she said.
History
Xi told Takaichi he hoped Tokyo would maintain the “general direction of peaceful, friendly and cooperative bilateral relations,” according to state news agency Xinhua.
Xi added that Japan “should adhere to and fulfil clear provisions on major issues such as history” as outlined in bilateral political documents, Xinhua reported.
Visits to Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine — which honours Japan’s war dead, including convicted war criminals — have long angered China and the Koreas. Takaichi, a protégé of the late right-wing leader Shinzo Abe, has been a frequent visitor to the shrine.
A close US ally, Japan has strengthened its defence posture in recent years, boosting spending and developing counter-strike capabilities. Around 60,000 US troops are stationed in the country.
Earlier this week, Takaichi hosted President Trump aboard an American aircraft carrier, and announced that Japan would raise defence spending to 2% of GDP this fiscal year — two years ahead of schedule.
“It could be a frosty get-to-know-you meeting as Xi Jinping has not sent a congratulatory message to Takaichi, wary of her reputation as a China hawk,” Yee Kuang Heng, a professor at the University of Tokyo, told AFP before the talks.
“Overall though, stability is a shared priority,” Heng added.
With inputs from agencies
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