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Japan-China impasse dims prospects for an APEC summit, report says

A reported Chinese overture sought an Abe-style conciliatory speech, but Sanae Takaichi paired cooperation language with criticism of Beijing.

Channel: YTN ·

South KoreaStory of November 10, 2026Trari Newsroom

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중국이 손 내밀었는데...화해는커녕 발작 버튼 눌러버린 일본 [자막뉴스] / YTN

Things we can learn from the video

Press to jump

0:00Abe's 2014 parliamentary address presents China's peaceful development as an opportunity for Japan.
0:42Takaichi's Taiwan remarks are presented as the starting point of the diplomatic freeze.
1:15Mainichi reports that China proposed an Abe-style public signal of willingness to improve relations.
1:30Takaichi combines cooperation language with criticism of Chinese military activity and other concerns.
2:32The report questions Japan's reliance on Washington and describes poor prospects for an APEC bilateral summit.

A meeting between Japan's and China's leaders at the coming APEC gathering looks difficult, according to a report examining why a behind-the-scenes attempt to improve relations failed to produce a breakthrough.

South Korea's YTN (Yonhap Television News) cites Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun as reporting that Beijing approached Tokyo with a proposal: use a parliamentary address to signal a willingness to repair relations, echoing former prime minister Shinzo Abe's approach.

The broadcast opens with Abe addressing parliament in September 2014. Relations had deteriorated over territorial disputes and his visit to Yasukuni Shrine. Abe described China's peaceful development as an opportunity for Japan and called for dialogue. Two months later, he met Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The present dispute centers on Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks about Taiwan in November last year. She said Chinese military action involving warships could constitute a situation threatening Japan's survival. According to the report, official government dialogue and leaders' meetings subsequently stopped, with China demanding a retraction and Japan refusing.

Mainichi's account, as presented in the broadcast, says Takaichi rejected the proposed conciliatory approach. Her October 5 speech did promise to advance a strategic, mutually beneficial relationship. But she also demanded responsible behavior over military activity around Japan, issues in the East and South China Seas, coercive measures, Japanese citizens' safety and human rights concerns.

The newspaper reported that a Chinese government official interpreted the speech as showing little willingness to improve ties. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson shown in the broadcast likewise accused Japan of avoiding the underlying issue and failing to correct its position.

Tokyo correspondent Lee Seung-bae closes by examining criticism of Japan's reliance on Washington. The report argues that President Donald Trump could deal directly with Xi rather than through Japan following his midterm setback. It cites assessments within the Japanese government that, with relations in their present state, an APEC meeting between Takaichi and Xi is unlikely.

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