The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
BEIJING / AP
China portrayed the visit Saturday by the Japanese foreign minister as an act of outreach to an angry Beijing, as the two sides try to repair relations bedeviled by disputes over territory, history and competition for influence in East Asia.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Fumio Kishida that the ties must be based on “respect for history, adherence to commitment, and on cooperation rather than confrontation.”
Relations have gone through “twists and turns in recent years due to reasons best known by Japan,” Wang said, adding that China desires “healthy and stable relations” with its neighbor and key economic partner. Japan needs to “turn its words into deeds,” Wang said.
High-level ties between the two countries have been largely frozen since Japan nationalized a string of uninhabited East China Sea islands claimed by China in 2012, sparking deep anger among Chinese.