Xi Jinping did not support Japan’s claim to the islets in Russian hands

Chinese President Xi Jinping did not support Japan’s claim to the Russian islands of Hokkaido in his talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin last month, according to a Chinese source familiar with the matter, abandoning a long-held stance of recognizing them as Tokyo’s property.

Xi told Putin at their meetings in Moscow that China “does not take sides with either side” over the territorial dispute, in a shift toward neutrality from China’s position outlined by then Chinese leader Mao Zedong in 1964 of consider the four disputed islands as belonging to Japan, the source said.

Bilateral negotiations over the islands known as the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kuril Territories in Russia have been on hold since Tokyo imposed punitive sanctions against Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine.

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China’s reversal could make the resolution of the decades-long dispute even more difficult, observers say, as Moscow is unlikely to budge on the issue now that it has Beijing’s backing.

Xi told Putin at their meetings in Moscow that China “does not take sides with either side” over the territorial dispute, in a shift toward neutrality.

In the talks on March 20 and 21, Putin stressed the importance of promoting a special duty-free zone established on the disputed islands last year and called for investment from Chinese companies, according to the source.

With improving ties between Tokyo and Seoul marked by summit talks between Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on March 16, Putin said Russia cannot wait for investment from companies South Koreans, added the source.

In response, Xi conveyed to Putin China’s neutral stance on the territorial dispute, but refused to make clear whether Beijing would allow his companies to join the project, saying he will leave the matter to Zheng Shanjie, chairman of the National Commission. Development and Reform Commission, the source said.

Tokyo has expressed regret over the establishment of the special duty-free zone on the disputed islands in March last year.

In July 1964, Mao told a Japanese Socialist Party delegation to China that he believed the Russian-held islands “should be returned to them”, announcing Beijing’s support for Tokyo’s territorial claim.

The Chinese government had maintained this position, although it had not mentioned it publicly in recent years. China’s maps show the disputed islands as “occupied by Russia”.

Japan claims the Soviet Union illegally seized the islands – Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and the Habomai group of islets – shortly after Japan’s surrender in World War II on August 15, 1945. Russia claims the action it was legit.