Asia nikkei news on April 18, 2019, reported that "Japan hand" Kong Xuanyou, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister is soon to arrive in Tokyo to serve as Ambassador. It said in an unusual flurry of diplomacy, influential Japanese figures have been visiting China one after another. It said besides Japan Foreign Minister Taro Kono's official visit, he and five other Japanese cabinet ministers -- including Hiroshige Seko, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry -- attended the fifth Japan-China High-Level Economic Dialogue in Beijing. Later this month, Hiroshi Yamamura, the Head of the Maritime Self-Defense Force, will visit China for an international fleet review in the eastern city of Qingdao, and Toshihiro Nikai, LDP Secretary General, will attend the second OROR Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing. The report observed it is rare for so many government, LDP and SDF officials to travel to China in such a short period of time, but noted that despite the friendly atmosphere, the high-level dialogue stood out for a lack of notable agreements. At the high-level dialogue, China and Japan disagreed over 5G wireless technology with China pressing Japan hard not to exclude Huawei Technologies from its networks. Tokyo, unsure if it wants a Chinese company handling its huge data flows, explained that it is not targeting any specific company. Other thorny security issues between Beijing and Tokyo include China's gas field development in the East China Sea, a flap over the Senkaku Islands, and China's militarization of the South China Sea. As part of the effort to build confidence though, Japan's Defense Ministry is sending the MSDF destroyer Suzutsuki to Qingdao for the fleet review. It will be the first time for an MSDF vessel to visit China in over seven years.
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