China and Japan seek to repair fraught ties as crises mount in chaotic world
Relations between the Asian powers have become highly strained in recent years, but officials from both sides are now talking up the value of cooperation
China and Japan need to move past their political disputes and strengthen economic ties to deal with an increasingly chaotic global order, officials from both countries urged at a key summit on Thursday.
But there were signs of a renewed desire to reset ties at the annual Tokyo-Beijing Forum, as attendees from both sides stressed the need for greater cooperation.
“The multilateral free-trade system is collapsing, and multiple crises – including global warming and food and energy security – are also getting nearer, day by day,” said Wu Jianghao, China’s ambassador to Japan.
China and Japan need to work more closely together in several fields to deal with this growing uncertainty, “particularly in how to make proper use of AI”, Wu said.
Our efforts now should go to at least ensuring free trade between China and Japan, and then we can think about global free trade
Lou Jiwei, China’s finance minister from 2013-16, said China and Japan need to cooperate to protect themselves amid the global economic uncertainty unleashed by the re-election of Donald Trump as US president.
