Tokyo-Beijing Forum Speakers Affirm Bilateral Ties; Foreign Minister Iwaya Wishes To Visit China Soon

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:09 JST, December 5, 2024

About 100 experts and journalists from Japan and China discussed issues related to the bilateral relationship and reaffirmed its importance at a plenary session of the 20th Tokyo-Beijing Forum on Wednesday in Tokyo. Participants also exchanged views on international affairs at the forum, organized by The Genron NPO in Japan and China International Communications Group.

In his address, Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya touched on the worsening sentiment toward Japan in China as shown in a recent Japan-China joint public opinion poll and said, “I once again felt the importance of further deepening mutual understanding.” He also expressed his desire to visit China at an early date, saying, “We must strengthen our communication.”

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party, said in a video message, “We’d like to make joint efforts to promote the development of the bilateral relationship.”

During the plenary session, panelists including Shotaro Yachi, former secretary general of the National Security Secretariat, and Yi Gang, former governor of China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China, discussed topics including the state of international order centering around the United Nations, and measures for cooperation between Japan and China in the financial sector.

The forum is now in its 20th year, and a document on cooperation for the next decade was signed on Wednesday. A joint statement was to be adopted on Thursday.