Chinese Premier Li Arrives in Japan

May 9, 2018

Tokyo- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang arrived in Japan on Tuesday evening, for the first visit by China's premier to the neighboring country in seven years, and the first as an official guest in eight years.

On Wednesday, Li is scheduled to attend a trilateral summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and also hold bilateral talks with Abe.

North Korea's denuclearization is expected to be high on the agendas of the meetings ahead of an anticipated summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un by early next month.

On Thursday, the Chinese premier will meet with Japanese Emperor Akihito, the heads of both chambers of the Diet, Japan's parliament, and others in the morning and travel to the northern prefecture of Hokkaido in the afternoon.

He will give a speech at a conference to be attended by Japanese prefectural and Chinese provincial governors on Friday, before returning home.

Li's predecessor, Wen Jiabao, was the last Chinese premier to visit Japan, in May 2011. Li took office in March 2013. Jiji Press