Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed understanding of Japan's concern over the issue of North Korea's past abductions of Japanese citizens during his first talks with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga over the phone last month, diplomatic sources said Saturday.
With Sino-U.S. tensions escalating, Xi has apparently tried to maintain stable relations with Japan, in part by voicing an interest in the abduction issue, which Suga has pledged to resolve, the sources familiar with bilateral ties said.
It is believed that Xi told North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at their meeting in June 2019 about then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's stance on relations between Tokyo and Pyongyang.