China, Japan restart maritime talks

BEIJING - China and Japan have restarted high-level consultations on maritime affairs, according to a press release issued by the Chinese foreign ministry on Wednesday.

A meeting was held on Tuesday and Wednesday in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, with Yi Xianliang, deputy director-general of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry and Makita Shimokawa, deputy director-general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, as the chief representatives from both sides.

China-Japan relations

Officials from the two countries' defense ministries, maritime affairs departments and other related departments, also attended the two-day meeting, according to the release.

The two sides exchanged views on East China Sea-related affairs as well as maritime cooperation, said the release.

They agreed, on principle, to resume maritime liaisons between defense agencies of the two countries, it said.

The China-Japan mechanism of high-level consultations on maritime affairs was set up in January 2012 with the first round of talks held May of the same year in Hangzhou, capital city of east China's Zhejiang Province.

According to Wednesday's release, the two sides also agreed, on principle, that the next round of consultations will be held late this year or early next year.