BEIJING — Shared trade friction with the U.S. appears to be drawing longtime Asian rivals China and Japan closer, with Chinese President Xi Jinping telling Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday that the two countries are “sharing more common interests and concerns.”
China-Japan relations have undergone turbulence but are now “back to a normal track,” Xi told Abe during the first formal visit to Beijing by a Japanese leader in nearly seven years.
“Under the new situation, our interdependence with each other has deepened. Also, we are sharing more common interests and concerns in multilateral and wider areas,” Xi said.
Abe’s visit highlights the improvement in ties after they hit a low in 2012 during a dispute over East China Sea islands controlled by key U.S. ally Japan but claimed by China.
While that feud remains unresolved, trade and investment have recovered and companies from the two sides are exploring joint investments in third countries such as Thailand. China has come under increasing pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump’s move to impose punitive tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese products and attempt to limit Chinese access to American technology.  (AP)