China, Japan Finance Ministers to discuss economies in Beijing

A man looks at an electronic board showing the stock index in Tokyo, Japan, April 9, 2015 [Xinhua]

A man looks at an electronic board showing the stock index in Tokyo, Japan, April 9, 2015 [Xinhua]

Amid a slide in China’s exports to Tokyo, China’s Ministry of Finance announced on Thursday that the Chinese and Japanese Finance Ministers will hold a summit in Beijing on June 6.

China’s trade with Japan plummeted by 11 per cent during the January- April period.

The Finance Ministers will discuss “Chinese and Japanese economies, bilateral financial cooperation and global financial cooperation,” said a brief notice on the Ministry website, signaling the desire of both nations to mend frayed ties and promote a cautious rapprochement

This marks the fifth bilateral finance dialogue since the first meeting in 2006.

China’s exports unexpectedly declined in April owing to sluggishness in Europe and a slide in shipments to Japan.

Territorial disputes and Beijing’s anger at Japan’s refusal to show appropriate remorse over wartime atrocities have resulted in souring of ties between the two neighbours.

The two countries are locked in a territorial row over a group of islands, known as the Senkaku islands in Japan and the Diaoyu islands in China.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met on the sidelines of a summit in Indonesia in November in April in a symbolic breakthrough for ties.

Beijing and Tokyo have seen brief periods of deterioration in bilateral ties before and usually found a way to settle if not resolve differences.

Trade ties have seen a downward spiral, affected by the strain in political relations.

Japan’s direct investment in China fell nearly a fifth in 2013, and dropped another 40 per cent to 300.8 billion yen (1.69 billion pounds) during the first half of 2014 from a year earlier.

 

TBP and Agencies

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