US President urges Xi to hold Japan-China summit; Japan may approach APEC - Hong Kong paper

The Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post reported on the 8th that at the US-China summit held in Washington in September, US President Trump requested President Xi Jinping to meet with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Mr. Xi reportedly did not agree. The report cited a person familiar with the matter.

Chinese Foreign Ministry official calls out Prime Minister Takaichi, says Japanese government says it's natural to show respect to China

According to the paper, the Japanese government has requested a summit meeting with the Chinese side to coincide with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to be held in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China in November. The Chinese side proposed a meeting with Premier Li Qiang, the second-ranking Communist Party official, instead of Mr. Xi, but the Japanese side reportedly showed reluctance.

At the U.S.-China summit, Trump also expressed concerns that China's restrictions on rare earth exports to Japan are having an impact on U.S. industry. He emphasized that this is an indirect violation of the trade truce between the United States and China.

In response, Mr. Xi asserted that ``the risks of Japanese militarism are increasing.'' He pointed out that Japan-China relations and US-China relations should be separated.

Prior to the U.S.-China summit, Takaichi met with Trump and explained Japan's position. Mr. Trump's call to Mr. Xi appears to be in response to this.