at 18:00 (JST), November 17 (Ai-CC by Clipchamp)

 

20241117180000_english_1.mp3

Welcome to NHK Newsline. I'm Ramin Malagard in Tokyo.

U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping have confirmed the significance of maintaining bilateral dialogue ahead of Donald Trump's return to the White House. Biden and Xi met on Saturday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit. It was their first summit meeting in a year.

China is ready to work with the new U.S. administration to maintain communication, expand cooperation, and manage differences so as to strive for a steady transition of the China-U.S. relationship for the benefit of the people of both countries.

These conversations prevent miscalculations and they ensure the competition between our two countries will not veer into conflict. The competition, not conflict.

According to a White House official, both sides welcomed last year's resumption of high level military to military communications. Biden reportedly urged an end to what he called China's destabilizing military activity around Taiwan. China's foreign ministry says she emphasized the need for the US to handle the Taiwan question with extreme prudence and to unequivocally oppose Taiwan's independence. And support China's peaceful unification. The ministry says she told Biden that there must be no challenge to what he called 4 red lines for China. The Taiwan question, democracy and human rights, China's path and system, and its right to development. US president-elect Trump is set to impose heavy tariffs on Chinese products, which could further escalate rivalry. At issue is whether the two global powers can maintain dialogue and work together to resolve problems, and the APEC Forum has wrapped up its two day summit. Leaders adopted a declaration emphasizing the importance of multilateral cooperation. There's been growing concern about protectionism.
Japanese Prime Minister Ishibashigaru and U.S. President Biden were among the representatives of 21 countries and regions. They discussed trade, investment and sustainable growth. A number of leaders voiced concerns about growing protectionism in light of Trump's return to office in January. Chinese President Xi said that APEC is faced with challenges, and he named rising tendencies of geopolitics, unilateralism and protectionism. The declaration underscores the need for multilateral cooperation to respond to unprecedented and rapid changes.
It also stresses the importance of delivering a free, open and predictable trade and investment environments.

The declaration adopted at the 31st APEC Economic Leaders Meeting reflects our visionto build a peaceful, a prosperous, resilient Asia-Pacific community, empowering our people to receive the benefits of the global economy.

Next year's APEC Forum is scheduled to be held in South Korea. China will host the following year.

And Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba and South Korean President Yoon Son Yol have shared serious concerns about North Korea's military moves and agreed to continue working together bilaterally and trilaterally with the United States. Ishiba and Yoon met on Saturday on the sidelines of the APEC Forum.

In light of the difficult security environment surrounding us, including recent activities by North Korea, it is important to continue to strengthen cooperation between Japan, South Korea, and the U.S. 

Now, during the meeting, the two leaders expressed grave concerns that Pyongyang is advancing nuclear and missile development and deepening military ties with Moscow. Yoon described the talks with Ishiba as especially meaningful at a time when the close partnership between Seoul and Tokyo is becoming ever more important. Ishiba and Yoon agreed to further elevate bilateral ties under their leadership. as the two countries will mark the 60th anniversary of normalizing diplomatic ties next year. Now, after the summit, Ishiba spoke to reporters.

Former Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and President Yoon have built better relations, and I hope to hold dialogue to further develop our relations and contribute to the peace and stability of the region.

Ishmael also said he would like to deepen discussions between leaders in various fields. Ishiba and Trump will not be meeting, despite speculation that such talks would take place in the coming days. Trump's transition team says he will not have any official talks before taking office. Arrangements were being made for Ishiba to meet Trump in the US after visiting Peru and Brazil for international conferences. According to Japanese government sources, Trump's team said a U.S. law prohibits private citizens from engaging in unauthorized negotiations with foreign government officials. Ishiba seeks to build a personal relationship of trust with the incoming president in order to maintain and strengthen the bilateral alliance. The prime minister continues to make arrangements for in-person talks as soon as possible after Trump takes office in January.

A knife-wielding man has gone on a rampage at a vocational school in eastern China, killing eight people and injuring 17 others.
The attack occurred Saturday evening in Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province. Police detained a 21 year old man at the scene.
Police say the suspect, who had attended the school, was angry about not receiving a graduation certificate after poor exam results. They believe he was also unhappy about the amount of his earnings during practical training. Chinese authorities are concerned about public unease across the country. This latest incident comes just days after a hit-and-run incident left 35 people dead at a sports facility in the southern city of Zhuhai.

And Japanese animation master Miyazaki Hayao has been honored with a Ramon Magsaysai Award, widely known as the Nobel Prize of Asia.

Miyazaki Hayao.

The award is given annually to individuals and organizations who've contributed to peace and development in Asia. Hiyazaki was recognized for creating a number of highly acclaimed films on themes of peace and the environment. The director was not able to attend the award ceremony, citing health problems. But he sent a handwritten letter to be read. The letter mentions the battle in Manila at the end of World War II between the now defunct Imperial Japanese military and U.S. forces that claimed the lives of around 100,000 civilians. Miyazaki said the Japanese committed numerous atrocities during the war, killing many civilians, and the Japanese should not forget this fact, Miyazaki said with such history in mind. He feels humbled to receive an honor from a foundation based in the Philippines
And those are the top stories for this hour.

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Now one more story before we go. A park in Saitama Prefecture near Tokyo offers visitors the best of two seasons.
Cherry blossoms, usually associated with spring, are flowering among fall foliage.
The park's 600 cherry trees bloom twice a year in early winter and spring. Maple trees began to turn bright red this month, contrasting with the pale pink cherry blossoms.
As it's such nice weather, I can see the leaves and blossoms shining. I'm so lucky to come here. Visitors can enjoy the site until the end of the month.

And that's a wrap for this edition of NHK Newsline. I'm Ramin Malegard.
Thank you very much for joining us and enjoy this beautiful view.