Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya in Tokyo, Japan, on March 22, 2025. Photo: VCG

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Japanese counterpart Takeshi Iwaya on Saturday co-chaired the sixth China-Japan High-Level Economic Dialogue in Tokyo, which concluded with 20 key consensus points as both sides pledged efforts to deepen economic collaboration between the two nations. 

The resumption of dialogue after a six-year hiatus is seen by Chinese experts as progress in thawing the freeze between China and Japan. It signals Japan's willingness to improve ties with China across various fields. 

Amid an increasingly complex and uncertain international landscape, cooperation between China, Japan and among the Asia-Pacific, serves as a strong countermeasure against unilateral and protectionist moves by certain countries, and plays a stabilizing role in navigating global turmoil, analysts said Sunday.

At the dialogue, China and Japan agreed to jointly implement an important consensus reached by their leaders, enrich the economic dimension of the China-Japan strategic relationship of mutual benefit, and work together to build a constructive and stable economic and trade relationship that meets the demands of a new era.

The dialogue concluded with 20 key consensus points regarding cooperation in areas such as green development, environmental protection, elderly care services, service trade, food safety, supply chains and intellectual property protection, among others.

The two sides agreed to support each other in hosting multiple events, and hold consultations and dialogues at various levels.

The two countries also agreed to hold the seventh China-Japan High-Level Economic Dialogue in China at an appropriate time.

During the dialogue, Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, pointed out that since the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, bilateral trade has increased more than 300 times and has remained at a high level of $300 billion for 15 consecutive years, with the accumulated bilateral investment reaching nearly $140 billion, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The economic outcomes prove that China and Japan are partners, not rivals, Wang stressed.

Amid profound adjustments in the global economic landscape, rising unilateral protectionism and setbacks to economic globalization, China and Japan, as major world economies, should establish a correct understanding of each other, demonstrate responsibilities, seek development with innovative thinking, add momentum to cooperation and mutual benefit, and reduce obstacles and differences.

Lü Chao, an expert on East Asian studies at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, described the dialogue and consensus as "encouraging and significant progress" for China-Japan relations. 

China-Japan relations have been at a low point in recent years. The previous Japanese government closely followed the US' "Indo-Pacific Strategy" to decouple from China, sending economic and trade relations into a downward spiral, which sparked deep concerns among business communities on both sides. The consensus reached during this dialogue signals the Ishiba administration's intent to improve ties with China across various fields including the political, security and economic fronts, Lü told the Global Times. 

With an uncertain international landscape, particularly the shockwaves coming from the new US government's treatment of its allies, the stability of China-Japan relations and the broader Asia-Pacific region is becoming more important for Japan, Lü said.

Of the 20 consensus points, China and Japan agreed to maintain a free and open multilateral trading system, enhance cooperation under a number of mechanisms while accelerating negotiations for a China-Japan-South Korea Free Trade Agreement, per Xinhua.

Regarding the discharge of Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water and imports of Japanese aquatic products to China, China's position opposing Japan's unilateral decision to discharge water remains unchanged. Both sides reaffirm complete, accurate, and comprehensive understanding of the consensus issued on September 20, 2024, and confirm the ongoing implementation of long-term international monitoring against discharge, along with China's independent sampling and monitoring. On the premise that no abnormalities are found in the results, relevant consultations on the import of Japanese aquatic products into China will be conducted.

On Saturday, Wang also met with Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, during which Wang stressed that correctly understanding and treating history is an important prerequisite for Japan's post-war return to the international community, political foundation for Japan to develop relations with its neighboring countries, and an important criterion for testing whether Japan can abide by its commitment to peaceful development, Xinhua reported.

Four political documents between China and Japan have made clear provisions on history and the Taiwan question, which must be strictly implemented, Wang said.   

For his part, Iwaya said Japan has long followed the path of peaceful development and attaches great importance to abiding by the four political documents between Japan and China, adding that Japan's position on the Taiwan question, based on the Japan-China joint communique in 1972, remains unchanged, according to Xinhua.

Despite the warming trend, Lü cautioned against opposition from some right-wing forces in Japan. As the current Japanese government still faces challenges at home, it remains to be seen how these bilateral consensuses can be implemented, Lü said.

'1+1+1>3'

Prior to the dialogue, Wang attended the 11th China-Japan-ROK Trilateral Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Saturday together with Iwaya and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul.

China is ready to work with Japan and South Korea to elevate the trilateral cooperation under the new circumstances, and make it more mature, stable and resilient, Wang said, Xinhua reported.

Noting that the trilateral cooperation is one of the most deeply rooted, highly institutionalized and promising cooperation frameworks in East Asia, Wang said the three-way cooperation has yielded positive results over the past 20 years since its inception.

The three countries should review the consensus of "facing history squarely and looking to the future," stick to the original intention of cooperation and promote China-Japan-ROK cooperation to achieve the effect of "1+1+1>3" for the benefit of the three countries, the region and the world, Wang said.

Kiyoyuki Seguchi, Research Director at The Canon Institute for Global Studies, told the Global Times that the widening rift between Europe and the US has become a destabilizing factor in the global order. "In this context, a good and stable relationship among China, Japan and South Korea is more important than ever. I believe the unity of these three countries can serve as a stabilizing 'anchor' navigating global turmoil." 

Looking ahead as to how the trilateral meeting can further promote regional economic integration, Seguchi emphasized that the most crucial factor is expanding the free trade and investment system. To prevent unilateralism and protectionist policies from undermining the global free trade framework, East Asia can cooperate and lead Asian countries to further develop a free trade system.