**Meeting of Diplomatic Leaders in Beijing**
Iwaya Takeshi, Japan’s Foreign Minister (left), is seen shaking hands with Wang Yi, China’s Foreign Minister, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China, on the 25th. According to reports, China and Japan have agreed to hold high-level talks for security and economic cooperation next year.
On the 25th, foreign media reported that Iwaya Takeshi visited Beijing and, after meeting Chinese Premier Li Qiang, met with Wang Yi, Head of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party and Foreign Minister. They agreed to hold a ‘security dialogue’ involving high-level officials for communication in the bilateral security sector. Efforts will be made for Wang’s visit to Japan at an early date, and a ‘high-level economic dialogue’ between China and Japan will also be held. The meeting between the diplomatic leaders follows the bilateral meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba last month.
During his visit, Iwaya requested the resumption of seafood imports from Japan and the swift release of Japanese detainees held under China’s espionage laws. Following the foreign minister talks, the ‘China-Japan High-Level People-to-People and Cultural Exchange Dialogue’ was held for the first time in five years since 2019. During this dialogue, Japan expressed its intention to ease the visa issuance requirements for Chinese nationals and proposed measures to expand people-to-people exchanges.