Beijing, Tokyo to look at initiating liaison mechanism

Beijing and Tokyo agreed to consider initiating the bilateral maritime and airspace liaison mechanism at an early date, during a meeting of their foreign ministers on Wednesday.

On the sidelines of the annual China-Japan-Republic of Korea Foreign Ministers' meeting in Tokyo, Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida also agreed on enhancing bilateral dialogue and considering about holding a new round of the China-Japan high-level consultation on maritime affairs.

The liaison mechanism, designed to better enable crisis management and avoid and miscalculations, has already been endorsed by leaders from both sides but its initiation has been stalled partly because of the strained ties.

In June, the Ministry of National Defense spokesman Wu Qian said Beijing "attaches importance" to this mechanism and it called upon Tokyo to "remove barriers that hinder negotiations on the mechanism".

As their disputes in the East China Sea have overshadowed the relationship, senior officials from both countries have held four rounds of maritime affairs consultations. The first was held in 2012, the second in 2014 and two others took place last year.

The consultations can help resolve maritime tensions as the second consultation in September, 2014, witnessed the resumption of the two-way negotiation on the liaison mechanism.

During the Wednesday talks, the Foreign Minister said that currently the China-Japan relationship still faces difficulties, and it is at "a critical juncture" with "both opportunities and challenges".

China is ready to manage and control the existing divergences, conduct exchanges in various fields and expand common interests, according to Wang.

Kishida said Tokyo is willing to manage and control contradictions and divergences, expand the positives in the two-way relationship and bring ties back on track.

Japan is willing to explore establishing the Japan-China relationship to one that lives up to the characteristics of the new era, he added.

Cai Hong in Tokyo contributed to this story.