Japan, China develop relations to new stage: LDP’s Nikai

December 28, 2017

Beijing- Japanese ruling party executive Toshihiro Nikai said Thursday that Japan and China have pushed their relations to a new stage that allows them to discuss the future together.

Economic ties between the two countries are now beyond reciprocal relations, Nikai, secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party, said in a speech at the Chinese Communist Party's Central Party School in Beijing.

Japan and China have deepened their economic relations "to the point of allowing them to talk about the future together," he said.

Nikai called for early reciprocal visits by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping to each other's country.

He also sought to hold a trilateral summit of Japanese, Chinese and South Korean leaders in Japan at an early date.

"Now is the time to hammer out a future vision of bilateral relations, when powerful leaders are in office in both countries," Nikai said.

He said Japan and China "should explore the possibility of new cooperation that is advanced and complementary.

Possible areas of cooperation include environmental preservation and energy-saving, the better protection of intellectual property rights, and the improvement of hygiene, including the use of Japanese high-quality toilets in China, Nikai said.

He said he hopes for an early resumption of high-level economic dialogue that brings together economic ministers from the two countries.

The two countries need to continue exchanges and dialogue even if they encounter a difficult situation, Nikai said, referring to disputes over the East China Sea, including the Senkaku Islands administered by Japan and claimed by China.

He proposed Japan accept students from the Central Party School, which trains officials for the Communist Party, every year starting in 2018. Jiji Press