Official Visits and Summit Meetings between the Leaders of Japan and the People’s Republic of China as an Indicator of the Normalization of Bilateral Relations (2014–2019)

This article examines official visits and summit meetings between the leaders of Japan and the People’s Republic of China from 2014 to 2019 as an indicator of the normalization process following the sharp deterioration of bilateral relations in the early 2010s. The research problem lies in the lack of systematic analysis of high-level contacts as an independent measure of stabilization, despite their frequent mention in studies on East Asian diplomacy. The aim of the article is to assess the dynamics of the formats and thematic content of meetings between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the Chinese leadership, represented by President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang. The study focuses on official visits and summit meetings held on the margins of international forums, with particular attention to references to historical issues, security concerns, and economic cooperation. The findings demonstrate that summit diplomacy during this period reflected a limited and asymmetrical form of stabilization rather than full normalization. The novelty of the article lies in treating leader-level visits and summits as an indicator of normalization efforts, rather than as a secondary or purely symbolic element of diplomatic interaction.

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