New round of maritime talks start

China and Japan will hold their latest round of high-level consultations on maritime affairs on Wednesday, in Japan, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Wednesday.

The third round of talks, set to end on Friday, involve both countries’ foreign affairs and defense authorities, and other maritime-related departments, Hua said at a regular news conference.

Hua called the consultations a comprehensive communicating and mediating mechanism for both countries’ maritime affairs. The mechanism allows related departments from both sides to exchange views on East China Sea issues and cooperation.

Since the mechanism was set up in 2012, the first round of talks were held in Hangzhou, capital city of Zhejiang province, and the second set of talks took place in Qingdao, Shandong province.

Tokyo-based Kyodo news agency reported last week that both countries are likely to exchange opinions on maritime security, following the recently resumed talks between defense authorities on a maritime crisis management mechanism.

zhaoshengnan@chinadaily.com.cn