On January 14th, in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, Wang Huning, the chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, met with Hiroshi Moriyama, the Secretary-General of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and Makoto Nishida, the Secretary-General of the coalition partner Komeito Party, for a commemorative photo. This meeting symbolized a reactivation of various exchange channels and efforts to strengthen relations between China and Japan, ahead of the second Trump administration.
On the same day, Hiroshi Moriyama and Makoto Nishida held the 9th China-Japan ruling party exchange conference with Liu Jianchao, head of the International Liaison Department of the Communist Party of China. This dialogue channel was initially launched in 2006 but was halted after the 8th conference in October 2018, due to COVID-19 and deteriorating bilateral relations. The mechanism was revived after seven years, possibly due to both countries’ anticipation of Trump’s return to power in the U.S.
The Japanese delegation presented a letter from Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to Wang Huning, who mentioned in the meeting that both nation’s leaders agreed last year to fully promote a strategic, mutually beneficial relationship following the principles laid out in the four China-Japan political documents.
Before meeting with Wang Huning, the Japanese delegation also requested Wang Yi, member of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Politburo and Foreign Minister, to visit Japan soon. The previous day, Li Shulei, a Politburo member and head of the Central Propaganda Department, had met with the Japanese delegates to express hopes for improved relations. Li emphasized the desire for stronger political dialogue and cultural exchanges to foster a beneficial and rational public opinion environment for China-Japan relations.
Additionally, the two countries have restarted military exchange channels. On January 13th, the Japanese delegation’s visit coincided with China’s Ministry of National Defense announcing that a delegation from the Eastern Theater Command would visit Japan in mid-January. This was a follow-up to the “Japan-China Officer Exchange Activities” held in China from November 26 to December 4 last year. The Chinese delegation plans to meet with Japan’s Ministry of Defense and the Joint Staff Office, and visit related military facilities, which China believes will aid in improving mutual understanding and trust.
However, there are reported limitations to these exchanges. Japanese media mentioned that Hiroshi Moriyama is expected to push for the resumption of Japanese beef imports, banned since 2001 due to BSE (mad cow disease). The Japanese delegates also plan to discuss lifting the ban on Japanese seafood imports, in place since August 2023, and addressing issues related to Russia and North Korea.
Meanwhile, exchanges between South Korean and Chinese political circles have stalled amid South Korea’s political vacuum. Last September, a South Korea-China parliamentary delegation visited Beijing after the opening of the National Assembly, yet China’s reciprocal visit by the China-Korea Friendship Group, scheduled for December, was postponed. Additionally, ministerial-level shuttle diplomacy agreed upon between South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yong and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a visit to Beijing last May, has not materialized as the new year arrives.