Media speculation of possible Xi-Abe meeting at APEC

BEIJING - In the wake of a meeting between the Board of Directors of the Boao Forum for Asia, where attendees includedboth Chinese President Xi Jinping and former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, both Chinese and Japanese media are speculating on the possibility of a one-on-one meeting between Xi and current Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at next month’s APEC summit.

According to an official release from Xinhua, Fukuda invited Xi to attend the Boao Forum’s annual meeting next year, and the President accepted. The Japanese media view Fukuda as a possible intermediary, and ask if this could lead to a potential defrosting of relations between China and Japan.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in response to inquiries, said “China is the host State, and as Chinese custom goes, all visitors will be treated as respected guests,” before going on to add the caveat that the multitude of misunderstandings and issues affecting the China-Japan relationship “are facts and should not be avoided”. www.webershandwick.cn (ATI).