Chinese and Japanese leaders have a chance this week to sit down in Washington and discuss ways to stop simmering tensions from once again damaging business ties between Asia's two largest economies. They may pass on the opportunity.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe haven't held face-to-face talks for almost a year as a bid to rebuild ties from a 2012 low shows signs of stalling. As the two prepare to join dozens of other leaders at a two-day nuclear security summit starting March 31, officials from both countries have downplayed prospects for a meeting. Still, the two sides have a history of deciding such encounters only hours before they take place.
A fragile rapprochement after Xi and Abe's first meeting more than two years ago has frayed over territorial disputes and lingering mistrust over Japan's militant past. Japan's stepped up criticism of China's assertiveness in the South China Sea has angered Beijing, while ships and planes from both nations continue to tail one another around contested islets closer to Japan. Neither leader can afford an escalation as Xi pushes reforms to keep China on a stable growth path, while Abe seeks to reignite a sputtering economy.