New Japanese premier speaks to Biden as China seeks ‘peaceful coexistence’

ISTANBUL: Japan’s newly-elected Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba spoke to US President Joe Biden, vowing to strengthen bilateral ties while China’s President Xi Jinping urged ‘peaceful coexistence’ with Tokyo.

‘I had a great first phone call’ with Biden, said Ishiba on Wednesday, adding that he will work ‘hand-in-hand’ with the US president to ‘strengthen the Japan-US alliance and deepen our cooperation as global partners.’

Ishiba, elected prime minister on Tuesday, is known for his views seeking to review a bilateral defense pact with the US under which more than 50,000 American soldiers are deployed in the country.

Meanwhile, Xi sent a congratulations letter to Ishiba and said the two countries were ‘separated by a strip of water.’

‘It serves the fundamental interests of the two peoples for both sides to walk on a road of peaceful coexistence, everlasting friendship, mutually beneficial cooperation and common development,’ Xi told Japan’s 102nd prime minister.

Xi called on Japan under Ishiba to abide by t
he principles and consensus established in the four political documents signed between the two countries.

Source: Anadolu Agency