Japan, China leaders pledge 'constructive' ties in brief summit. (10/31/25.)
Takaichi says she discussed Taiwan and export controls with Xi
GYEONGJU, South Korea -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Friday pledged to stabilize ties in their first meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum summit in South Korea.
In his opening remarks, Xi told Takaichi that as the world rapidly undergoes a once-in-a-century transformation, the two countries should advance the "long-term, healthy and stable development" of China-Japan relations.
Takaichi said that she wants to solve "various issues and challenges" between the two countries and produce concrete results. She also said she wants to "actively engage in dialogue" with the Chinese leader.
Both sides reaffirmed their "strategic and mutually beneficial relationship" and agreed to build "constructive and stable" ties.
But the meeting also illustrated the numerous the mountain of challenges they face in improving bilateral ties. After the talks, which lasted for about 30 minutes, Takaichi said she "frankly" expressed concerns over a wide range of issues.
Those include China's activities in the East China Sea -- a reference to its military vessels sailing through waters around Japan's southern island prefecture of Okinawa -- export controls on rare earths and the safety of Japanese citizens living in the country. She also urged China to resume imports of Japanese seafood and beef.
Takaichi also said that the Chinese side brought up the subject of Taiwan, but did not elaborate. She said she told Xi that favorable cross-strait relations are important for the region's safety and security, a reference to the Taiwan Strait that geographically separates the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.
Takaichi had earlier posted on X a photo of her and Xi smiling and shaking hands before the APEC summit began. She said that was part of an effort to greet leaders who she has not met since becoming prime minister.
China did not immediately release details from the meeting.
The meeting came as ties initially appeared to get off to a rocky start, with Japanese media reporting that Xi broke with tradition by not sending a congratulatory message to Takaichi when she was elected prime minister 10 days ago. China's foreign ministry has neither confirmed nor denied the reports, only stating that it "made appropriate arrangements in accordance with diplomatic practice."
But foreign ministers from both sides agreed during a phone call earlier this week to advance their "strategic and mutually beneficial relationship," signaling broad agreement to pursue cooperation across various issues like trade, investment and regional security.
The meeting caps a busy week of diplomacy by Takaichi, who took office on Oct. 21. She met U.S. President Donald Trump during his three-day visit to Tokyo earlier this week and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday in Gyeongju, where the two-day APEC summit began on Friday.
Xi, meanwhile, is fresh off the heels of a high-profile meeting with Trump on Thursday in the port city of Busan, where they agreed to a reduction of 10 percentage points in U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods and the suspension of China's additional export controls on rare earth minerals.
China-Japan relations showed signs of improvement during the administration of previous Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. In late June, China announced that it would restart seafood imports from Japan, which it had suspended since 2023 over the release of treated wastewater from the disaster-hit nuclear power plant in Fukushima. China also scrapped visa requirements for Japanese short-term visitors, while Japan eased visa requirements for Chinese travelers.
But tensions between the two Asian neighbors remain. China's state news outlet Xinhua has noted Takaichi's regular visits to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, which China opposes, and characterized her policies in security and diplomacy as "distinctly hardline and conservative." Chinese officials have questioned Japan's moves to boost its defense capabilities, including increasing its defense budget and easing restrictions on arms exports.
Takaichi, so far, has been acting carefully, saying only that she will "make an appropriate decision" regarding her visits to Yasukuni, and skipping attendance at the shrine's autumn festival earlier this month, which she had done annually.
For Japan, safety of its citizens living in China has become a major concern after two stabbing attacks on Japanese schoolchildren last year, one of which resulted in the death of a 10-year-old Japanese boy in Shenzhen.
China swiftly sentenced two male attackers to death and executed them. But security concerns remain elevated on the back of China's detention of Japanese nationals over suspected espionage, and a series of events and movies to commemorate what it calls the 80th anniversary of its victory against Japanese aggression.
Japanese companies have also faced turmoil from China's export controls on rare earths earlier this year, and more recently by tensions between the government of the Netherlands and Nexperia, a Dutch chipmaker owned by a Chinese company. Honda, which counts Nexperia as a supplier, suspended car production at its Mexico plant this week, Nikkei reported.