BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his new Japanese counterpart Takeshi Iwaya on Wednesday that Beijing looked forward to a “new atmosphere” with Japan’s new cabinet, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said.
In a telephone conversation, Wang said China appreciated “positive signals” from Japan to steadily develop bilateral relations and looked forward to a “new atmosphere in the Japanese cabinet and new developments in China-Japan relations”.
He also called on efforts to maintain peace, “especially to prevent external forces from sowing discord and stirring up regional confrontation”, CCTV said.
“(We) hope Japan will establish an objective, rational and positive and friendly perception of China,” he told Iwaya, the CCTV report showed.
In July, Wang had said relations between the two countries were are at a critical stage after recent years of dealing with thorny issues including Japanese nationals detained in China, territorial claims, food import bans and trade tensions.
This year, two stabbing attacks on Japanese nationals including a 10-year-old schoolboy who was fatally wounded also raised questions about anti-Japan sentiment. China’s foreign ministry said these were individual cases and the country continued to protect the safety of all foreigners.
(Reporting by Liz Lee and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
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