No Meeting Between Chinese and Japanese Foreign Ministers in Manila
Dragon Media News Desk
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held neither a meeting nor a conversation with the Japanese side during his visit to Manila, the Global Times reported, citing information it had obtained. According to the report, Wang had no formal meeting or informal communication with Japanese representatives during the visit.
At the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s regular press briefing on July 23, journalists from Kyodo News and NHK asked whether the Chinese and Japanese foreign ministers had made any contact or held any communication in Manila.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said that, according to the information available to him, a meeting with the Japanese side in Manila was not included in Foreign Minister Wang’s schedule. He did not provide further details about any possible contact, the reason no meeting took place or the prospects for future talks.
Wang attended the China–ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Manila on July 22. During the visit, he met foreign ministers from more than 10 countries participating in ASEAN-related meetings, as well as the ASEAN secretary-general, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
The ministry said scheduling constraints prevented Wang from attending the full programmes of the ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and the ASEAN Regional Forum. Senior Chinese officials represented the country at those meetings.
Following his Manila visit, Wang travelled to Kyrgyzstan to attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Council of Foreign Ministers from July 23 to 25.
The Chinese side has not formally linked the absence of a meeting with the Japanese delegation in Manila to any specific development in bilateral relations.
