BEIJING/TOKYO — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit Japan from Sunday (April 15), in a further sign of warming ties between the two countries and as Beijing and Tokyo prepare for higher-level diplomatic exchanges next month.
The three-day trip by Mr Wang, who was elevated to state councillor last month, would revive a long-stalled bilateral economic dialogue and pave the way for Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's first official visit to Japan next month, the Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday.
Mr Li will attend the China-Japan-South Korea summit, which has been suspended since 2015, amid speculation about possible exchanges in the coming months between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Sino-Japanese relations have been plagued by a long-running territorial dispute in the East China Sea over the Diaoyu Islands, known as Senkaku Islands in Japan, a row that intensified after the Japanese government effectively put them under its control in September 2012.
Tensions began to ease late last year when Mr Abe signalled his desire for improved relations and expressed a wish to visit China. He also invited Mr Xi and Mr Li to Japan.
After Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono visited Beijing in January, Mr Li indicated during last month's National People's Congress, China's biggest annual political event, that he might attend the trilateral summit.
The annual summit was first held in 2008 but strains between the three East Asian neighbours, especially Beijing's opposition to Seoul's deployment of a United States-led anti-ballistic missile system, put the talks on ice.
If things go well, it could pave the way for Mr Li's visit, and also signify a reset of relations.
Mr Wang, who is making his second trip to Tokyo in two years, will also chair a high-level bilateral economic dialogue with Mr Kono.
Professor Zhou Yongsheng, who specialises in Sino-Japanese relations at the China Foreign Affairs University, said the Wang-Kono meeting would be the last official talks between China and Japan ahead of the proposed trilateral summit.
"If things go well, it could pave the way for Premier Li's visit, and also signify a reset of relations," Prof Zhou said.
Beijing-based analyst Lu Yaodong agreed that final preparations for the summit would be Mr Wang's top priority.
"With China and Japan the second- and third-biggest economies in the world, and South Korea also a strong regional economic power, having a smooth and constructive trilateral meeting for all three parties is extremely important for the region," Mr Lu said.
Japan needs to acknowledge that it is now in a difficult diplomatic position because it is sticking too closely to the US.
Apart from building trade and economic ties, Mr Wang was also expected to meet Mr Abe and hold talks with national security adviser Shotaro Yachi, Japanese government sources told Kyodo News.
Prof Zhou said Mr Wang would use the chance to temper "Japan's strong stand against North Korea, and ask them to persuade the US to do the same".
Mr Abe will visit the United States from April 17 to April 20 for talks with US President Donald Trump, ahead of his proposed groundbreaking summit with North Korea's reclusive leader Kim Jong-un.
Not wanting to feel left out, Japan PM Shinzo Abe also wants to meet Mr Kim.
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST