Chinese state councilor meets Japanese, South Korean foreign ministers

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono in Bangkok, Thailand, Aug. 1, 2019. (Xinhua/Zhang Keren)

BANGKOK, Aug. 1 -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha respectively here on Thursday.

When meeting with Kono on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers' meeting and other related meetings, Wang said China is ready to implement the important consensus reached by leaders of both countries at the Group of 20 (G20) Osaka Summit to ensure the stable and healthy development of China-Japan relations on the right track.

The China-Japan relations are now facing an important opportunity for further improvement and development, Wang said.

Wang said the two sides should continue the sound momentum of high-level exchanges and promote practical cooperation, as well as jointly push forward the Belt and Road Initiative construction.

He hoped that the Japanese side will provide Chinese enterprises with a business environment featured with equity, justness, non-discrimination and predictability.

Wang urged Japan to properly handle major issues of principle concerning historical problems and Taiwan to cement political mutual trust and eliminate disruptions for building China-Japan relations in a new era.

China and Japan also need to strengthen communications to safeguard multilateralism and free trade and promote regional integration, Wang said.

Kono said Japan is looking forward to Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit in spring next year and will work with China to ensure a successful visit.

Japan is ready to implement the consensus of state leaders, strengthen dialogue of all levels, deepen practical cooperation, and bolster people-to-people exchanges, Kono said.

The G20 Osaka summit sent positive signals for multilateralism and free trade, Kono said, highlighting the contribution from China.

In his meeting with South Korean foreign minister, Wang said China and South Korea should implement agreements earlier reached by leaders of both countries at the Osaka summit by strengthening exchanges of different levels and expanding cooperation on trade, technology and finance.

Wang noted that the two countries should accelerate the second-stage negotiations on a China-South Korea free trade agreement (FTA), and the negotiations over the trilateral free trade agreement among China, Japan and South Korea.

He also said the two sides should strengthen coordination in jointly opposing unilateralism, protectionism and safeguarding multilateralism and free trade.

Kang said that South Korea is willing to make plans together with China to expand cooperation on trade and environmental conservation, promote people-to-people exchange and uphold multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its center.

The two sides also exchanged views on the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

China supports South Korean to continue improving its relations with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), and to adopt an objective and just position when playing an active role in promoting talks between the United States and the DPRK.