Ishiba, Xi to Affirm Mutually Beneficial Strategic Ties

Tokyo, Nov. 12 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to agree to promote mutually beneficial strategic relations between the two countries during a summit meeting likely to take place in Peru later this week, people familiar with the matter said.

Ishiba, who took office on Oct. 1, will visit Peru and Brazil from Thursday through Nov. 21 to attend international conferences, a trip expected to include his first face-to-face talks with Xi and U.S. President Joe Biden.

The meeting between Ishiba and Xi is expected to take place in Lima on the sidelines of a summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum on Friday and Saturday.

In his meeting with Xi, Ishiba plans to demand China resume imports of Japanese fishery products at an early date. In September, Beijing agreed to ease its import ban on such products, which was introduced in response to Japan's discharge into the sea of tritium-containing treated water from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

Ishiba is also expected to call on Xi to ensure the safety of Japanese nationals in China following the fatal stabbing of a Japanese schoolboy in the Chinese city of Shenzhen in September.

The two leaders are also expected to discuss the deployment of North Korean troops to support Russia's war on Ukraine.

Ishiba and Biden are likely to affirm the importance of strengthening the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-U.S. alliance.

At a two-day summit of the Group of 20 major economies starting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Monday, Ishiba plans to highlight the importance of an international order based on the rule of law and call for support for Brazil's U.N. reform efforts.

Before returning to Japan from Brazil, Ishiba is considering making a stop in the United States to meet President-elect Donald Trump. The Japanese leader hopes to build a personal relationship of trust with the president-elect through an in-person meeting shortly after Trump's election win.

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