Japan’s Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru has conveyed his intention to build constructive and stable relations with China in his meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.
The two leaders met in Laos on Thursday on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit. It is Ishiba’s first overseas trip since taking office on October 1.
At the outset of the meeting, Ishiba told Li that the two countries share the broad goal of comprehensively promoting a mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests and building constructive and stable bilateral ties.
Ishiba noted that the two countries have not only the potential for cooperation but also pending issues.
But he said that he hopes the two countries will tackle problems so that people in both countries can benefit from the development of bilateral ties through both governments’ efforts.
Li said the fact that the two leaders could meet shortly after Ishiba took office indicates that both countries highly value their bilateral relations.
The Chinese premier also said the China-Japan relationship is at an important crossroads for improvement and development.
Li went on to say that he intends to make efforts so that both countries will have political trust between them and build a constructive and stable bilateral relationship suitable for the new age.