According to a report by the Hong Kong paper SCMP, China is said to have refused talks between President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae (高市 早苗), and to have considered proposing talks with Prime Minister Li Qiang (李強) as an alternative that Japan had viewed unfavorably.
SCMP reported that, regarding top-level diplomacy planned around the November APEC meeting, China had refused talks between President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae (高市 早苗). It reported that China proposed talks with Prime Minister Li Qiang (李強), the next-ranking leader, as an alternative, but that Japan viewed the proposal unfavorably.
Japanese government officials are said to have denied the contents of the SCMP report, creating a discrepancy between the positions of the two governments.
SCMP also reported that, at the US-China summit in September, President Trump (トランプ) urged Xi Jinping (習近平) to hold talks with Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae (高市 早苗), but Xi did not respond. The report is said to have indicated that President Trump (トランプ) applied pressure against the backdrop of Japanese companies' business ties in Japan-US trade and China-related issues.
The report suggests diplomatic tensions surrounding the international conference to be held in November, which could mark a turning point in Japan-China and US-China relations.