One-on-one Xi-Abe meeting uncertain

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation members will meet in Beijing from Nov 5 to 11 to discuss the future of APEC and the overall development of the Asia-Pacific region. But apart from trade and economics, the APEC meeting will also see diplomacy in full play.

Given this fact, should we expect a one-on-one between President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the APEC meeting? The answer is uncertain because, as Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Oct 29, the problems facing China-Japan ties are facts that cannot be ignored.

Despite enjoying rapid economic growth, the Asia-Pacific region is far from being an integral whole with a shared destiny, because of the political differences and territorial disputes among the regional powers. This situation, regional countries should realize, is not beneficial to pan-Pacific countries, including China and Japan.