China-Japan bilateral meeting unlikely at G20 summit

BEIJING - Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Li Baodong said on Tuesday that it is unlikely for Chinese and Japanese leaders to hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the forthcoming G20 summit due to Japan's provocative words and moves.

Asked at a press briefing about the prospect of a meeting at the summit, Li said it's impossible for China to arrange such a bilateral meeting as Japan keeps making provocative moves.

"A bilateral meeting involving leaders is not only about taking photos and shaking hands, it offers an opportunity for leaders to work out a solution to problems," he said.

He noted Japanese leaders are ignoring historical facts and unwilling to face existing problems in China-Japan relations, while remain reluctant to hold substantive discussions on the Diaoyu Islands.

Li said some political forces in Japan even openly denied the outcomes of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War and blatantly challenged the post-war international order.

"Under such circumstances how can we arrange the kind of bilateral meeting as wanted by the Japanese side?" Li asked in response.

If the Japanese side wants to arrange a meeting for solving problems, it needs to broaden its mindset, face historical facts and take concrete actions to remove obstacles, Li said.

China-Japan relations are in severe difficulties because of the Diaoyu Islands issue and the Chinese side is not to blame, he said, adding that China has called for resolving the dispute through dialogue to improve bilateral relations.

"We have done as what we've said. But Japan repeatedly shows only empty words asking for dialogues and refuses to talk over solutions to the problems, thus their posturing aims to mislead the public," he said.

The G20 Leaders' Summit is scheduled for Sept. 5-6 in St Petersburg, Russia.