Abe vows to work together with Xi to promote ties

June 11, 2019

Tokyo--Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tuesday he is willing to work together with Chinese President Xi Jinping to open a new era for bilateral relations.

Abe made the comments during talks with new Chinese Ambassador to Japan Kong Xuanyou at the prime minister's office in Tokyo while referring to Xi's planned visit to Japan later this month for a summit of Group of 20 leaders.

Kong already worked about 15 years in total in Japan before assuming his duties as Chinese ambassador to the country last month. Abe said he is pleased to see Kong, an expert on Japan, take the Tokyo job, expressing hope for his contributions to advancing bilateral ties.

The new envoy, speaking in Japanese, said he will work hard with people in Japan to further develop the two countries' relationship.

Abe and Kong reaffirmed the two countries' continued cooperation in denuclearizing North Korea and resolving Pyongyang's abductions of Japanese nationals. Jiji Press