BEIJING:  Japanese Foreign Minister IWAYA Takeshi met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing on Wednesday, in his first visit to China since taking office in October.

This is also the first trip to the East Asian neighbor by a Japanese foreign affairs chief since the one by HAYASHI Yoshimasa in April 2023.

At the outset of the meeting at the Great Hall of the People, Qiang told Iwaya that China-Japan relations are at a critical stage of improvement and development.

“Japan and China share important responsibilities in the region and the world,” Iwaya replied. Then he vowed to make efforts to build a relationship that will allow the two countries to fulfill these responsibilities.

Iwaya later had his first face-to-fact talks with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, to further promote mutually beneficial strategic ties and develop constructive, stable relations between the two countries.

Iwaya’s China visit is also aimed at pushing Beijing to swiftly resume imports of Japanese seafood in accordance with its agreement with Tokyo in September and discussing issues related to Chinese activities in the East China Sea and regional problems such as North Korea’s military cooperation with Russia.

Besides the meetings with Li and Wang, he is scheduled to attend a “high-level dialogue” co-sponsored by the governments of both countries to promote personnel exchanges through cultural programs and tourism. During the event, Japanese education minister ABE Toshiko  is expected to announce a plan to ease travel visa requirements for Chinese nationals.

Iwaya flew to Beijing in the wake of an agreement by Japanese Prime Minister ISHIBA Shigeru and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Peru last month to forge mutually beneficial relations and reactivate personnel interactions including at the summit level.

JIJI Press