A panel of experts on Japan-China relations will hold a formal meeting later this year in China, the first such gathering since tensions over Japanese-controlled islets in the East China Sea increased in late 2012, the panel said Friday.
The New Japan-China Friendship Committee for the 21st Century will hold a formal meeting leading up to a series of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum meetings to be held in November in Beijing, a member of Japan's delegation to the committee said.
The panel of experts from both countries plans to draft a report to the two governments calling for increased bilateral exchanges, the member said, adding, "I hope the formal meeting will lead to a Japan-China summit."
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping have never had formal one-on-one talks since taking office in December 2012 and March 2013, respectively.
Both the panel's formal talks, which had been held for years, and a bilateral summit have been on the backburner since tensions heightened following the Japanese government's purchase of a major part of the Senkaku Islands, which China claims as Diaoyu, from a private owner in September 2012.
The announcement of the coming meeting came at the end of the panel's two-day informal gathering in Nagasaki, southwestern Japan.
University of Tokyo Professor Akio Takahara, who attended the informal meeting, said he "felt a strong conviction from both sides that relations need to be brought back to how they should be."
The panel also agreed to work on increasing exchanges between Japanese and Chinese youth and to cooperate on environmental issues.
Reference: The Global Post
The New Japan-China Friendship Committee for the 21st Century will hold a formal meeting leading up to a series of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum meetings to be held in November in Beijing, a member of Japan's delegation to the committee said.
The panel of experts from both countries plans to draft a report to the two governments calling for increased bilateral exchanges, the member said, adding, "I hope the formal meeting will lead to a Japan-China summit."
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping have never had formal one-on-one talks since taking office in December 2012 and March 2013, respectively.
Both the panel's formal talks, which had been held for years, and a bilateral summit have been on the backburner since tensions heightened following the Japanese government's purchase of a major part of the Senkaku Islands, which China claims as Diaoyu, from a private owner in September 2012.
The announcement of the coming meeting came at the end of the panel's two-day informal gathering in Nagasaki, southwestern Japan.
University of Tokyo Professor Akio Takahara, who attended the informal meeting, said he "felt a strong conviction from both sides that relations need to be brought back to how they should be."
The panel also agreed to work on increasing exchanges between Japanese and Chinese youth and to cooperate on environmental issues.
Reference: The Global Post
