Senior Chinese Communist Party diplomat may visit Japan

May 10, 2019

Beijing--A senior diplomat of the Communist Party of China is expected to visit Japan for three days through May 18, it was learned Friday.

Yang Jiechi, a member of the party's Political Bureau, is likely to hold talks with Shotaro Yachi, head of the secretariat at Japan's National Security Council, informed sources said.

Their agenda will include details of planned talks between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in the western Japan city of Osaka on June 28-29, according to the sources. It will be Xi's first visit to Japan as president.

During the Yang-Yachi meeting, issues relating to the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, which are administered by Japan as part of the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa but also claimed by China, and import restrictions by China on Japanese food will also be taken up, the sources said.

Amid improving bilateral relations, the Japanese side is making efforts to invite Xi to visit again, as a state guest, after the G-20 summit. Jiji Press