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China indicates possibility of Xi-Abe meet next month
October 29, 2014, 1:12 pm

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers a speech during the Air Review at Hyakuri air base, north of Tokyo, Japan, Oct. 26, 2014 [Xinhua]

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers a speech during the Air Review at Hyakuri air base, north of Tokyo, Japan, Oct. 26, 2014 [Xinhua]

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday that China will accord all due respect to visiting leaders during the APEC Summit in Beijing next month, fueling speculation that Chinese President Xi Jinping might hold talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to end tensions.

At a forum in Beijing on Wednesday, Wang Yi said China will “play its due role as a host to all guests” when answering a question on the possibility of a Xi-Abe meeting on the sidelines of the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings.

Abe has not held talks with Chinese leaders since he returned to power in December 2012.

In an oblique indication of a possible meet, Wang added that Chinese culture reflects, “whoever comes is a guest”.

The Chinese Foreign Minister, however, added the stalemate in China-Japan ties are “objective facts that cannot be ignored”.

Tensions between the two countries have risen in the past year, with each side accusing the other of flying military aircraft too close to its own jets in a long-running territorial dispute over a cluster of islets in the East China Sea.

Abe’s visit to the Yasukuni shrine, regarded by China as a symbol of Japan’s wartime militarism has also infuriated both China and South Korea.

China hopes Japan will “face the existing problems” and “show sincerity to solve the problems,” said Wang on Wednesday.

China will host a series of APEC meetings from November 5-11 in Beijing.

The 22nd APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting will be held on November 10-11.

 

TBP and Agencies