JAPAN PM TAKAICHI, CHINA'S XI HOLD FIRST SUMMIT TALKS IN SOUTH KOREA

GYEONGJU (South Korea), OCT 31 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- The Japanese government said its Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held their first talks Friday afternoon in South Korea, Kyodo News Agency reported.

Their first meeting since Takaichi assumed office as prime minister last week took place on the sidelines of the two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, which began on Friday in Gyeongju.

The two leaders are expected to confirm their countries' policy of promoting a "strategic and mutually beneficial relationship" and building "constructive and stable" ties.

Their meeting was held amid signs that Beijing is taking a cautious approach to Takaichi, who is known as a China hawk.

Earlier in the day, Takaichi posted a picture of herself and Xi exchanging greetings before the start of the APEC summit on her social media platform X.

The two countries have long been at odds over historical, territorial and other issues, including repeated intrusions by Chinese coast guard vessels into Japanese territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, which Beijing claims and calls it Diaoyu Islands.

In an apparent warning, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi during their phone call on Tuesday that the issues regarding history and Taiwan, a self-ruled democratic island that Beijing claims as part of its territory, concern "the foundation of bilateral relations and basic trust and faith" between the two countries.

Signalling wariness over her hard-line foreign policies, Xi has not sent a congratulatory message to Takaichi, despite having done so for her three predecessors, including Shigeru Ishiba, whom she succeeded as Japanese leader, according to a diplomatic source.

During their talks, Takaichi, known as a staunch conservative, is expected to raise concerns about Chinese vessels' intensifying activities near the Senkakus, and emphasise the importance of peace and stability over the Taiwan Strait, according to Japanese government sources.

The new Japanese leader may also seek an early release of Japanese nationals detained in China over espionage allegations, the sources added.

Takaichi, who shares the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's conservative political views and is regarded as his protege, has been labelled a right-wing nationalist by Chinese media. Abe was fatally shot while making a campaign speech in 2022.

--BERNAMA-KYODO