Japan announced today that a Chinese military delegation will pay a rare visit to it this week, at a time when the two neighboring countries are seeking to smooth over their fraught relations, before Donald Trump returns to the White House.
According to Japanese government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi, members of the leadership of the “people’s Liberation Army” are meeting with their Japanese counterparts and high-ranking officials of the country from Monday to Friday.
Meeting of the ministers of Defense
This visit is taking place after the Japanese and Chinese defense ministers met in November in Laos, on the sidelines of a regional forum in the field of defense, according to Hayashi.
“It is the first time in 5 years that talks between the two militaries have resumed,”the Japanese government spokesman said during the regular briefing.
“Strengthening understanding and trust through frank communication at the leadership level will contribute to the establishment of constructive and stable relations between Japan and China,”he stressed.
“We consider that this visit contributes to peace and stability in the region,” he said, without giving further details.
Promote mutual understanding and trust
The Chinese military, for its part, said in a statement that “this visit will contribute to strengthening mutual understanding and trust between the two parties, and discussions in the field of defense between China and Japan.
Tokyo and Beijing are seeking to improve their relations, which have long been marred by long-standing territorial disputes.
Japan is also trying to convince China to lift the ban on imports of Japanese sea fruits, which was adopted after the Japanese authorities began to discharge into the ocean stored water at the Fukushima nuclear plant.
Tokyo plans to invite the Chinese Foreign Minister to visit next month, in preparation for a state visit from President Xi Jinping, as revealed by the newspaper “Nikkei” last week.
Xi, who was in Japan for the group of twenty summit in Osaka in 2019, has not made a state visit to Japan since taking office.
