Sino-Japanese meeting at G20 ruled out

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Sino-Japanese meeting at G20 ruled out

By Zhang Yunbi (China Daily) 08:33, August 28, 2013

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Tokyo refuses to hold 'dialogue of substance' in resolving disputes

A senior Chinese diplomat on Tuesday criticized Japan for lack of sincerity in its latest call for a meeting between the countries' top leaders, saying Tokyo was just trying to strike a pose and mislead the public.

"A leaders' meeting is not just about shaking hands or taking pictures, but solving problems," Vice-Foreign Minister Li Baodong said at a news briefing in Beijing.

He was answering a question whether leaders of the two countries will hold talks on the sidelines of the upcoming G20 summit in St Petersburg from Sept 5 to 6.

President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will attend the meeting, and some Japanese media have reported that Abe was seeking to hold talks with Xi during the event.

Li noted that Tokyo has long refused to engage in a "dialogue of any substance" with Beijing on resolving the Diaoyu Islands issue.

"Tokyo has always shown its tough side and remained provocative on this issue," Li said.

If Japan really wants to improve relations, it should take a step of substance, rather than use "empty words or gestures", he said.

Lu Yaodong, director of the Japanese diplomacy department of the Institute of Japanese Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said it was not the first time Tokyo has proposed a top leaders' meeting.

Tokyo is trying to give people an impression that it is dedicated to breaking its diplomatic deadlock with Beijing. "By doing so, Japan can then accuse China of being insincere in resolving the disputes," Lu said.

On Sept 9, 2012, former Japanese prime minister Yoshiko Noda talked to former president Hu Jintao on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Vladivostok, Russia.

But one day after their meeting, Tokyo ignored Beijing's repeated warnings, and went ahead with an announcement that Japan would "nationalize" China's Diaoyu Islands, straining already tense relations.

A top Japanese spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, has said there is no territorial dispute over the Diaoyu Islands.