Head of Japan's National Security Council Secretariat Shotaro Yachi is in China for talks with Chinese officials, where he is expected to coordinate a bilateral summit on the sidelines of the G20 meeting next month.

    Yachi arrived in Beijing on Wednesday. He will meet State Councilor Yang Jiechi, who is in charge of China's foreign policy, during his three-day stay. He is expected to arrange a meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit on September 4th and 5th in the eastern city of Hangzhou, according to Japan's NHK World broadcaster. 

    Yachi will also likely ask for China's cooperation for a three-way summit with South Korea to be held in Japan this year. He is expected to urge restraint over China's maritime activity in the East and South China seas. Chinese patrol boats have repeatedly entered Japanese waters around the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. 

    Japan controls the islands. The government maintains the islands are an inherent part of Japan's territory. China and Taiwan claim them. Yachi is also expected to call on China, which is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, to urge North Korea to exercise self-restraint, following the country's repeated test-launches of ballistic missiles.

Source: QNA