Xi, Abe will share stage in Sochi but nothing else

February 05, 2014 13:15

For the first time since a diplomatic row broke out between China and Japan over the Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to a controversial war shrine, leaders of the two nations will be sharing a stage for the first time on Friday, reports the South China Morning Post.

But it is not clear if Xi Jinping and Abe will actually interact at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Sochi in Russia on Friday, the newspaper adds.

After the disputed visit by Abe to the Yasukuni shrine in December, he had been dubbed an 'unwelcome' person by Beijing, and the chill is expected to continue at Sochi.

SCMP quotes Da Zhigang, expert in Japanese affairs at the Heilongjiang Academy of Social Sciences, as saying that the two may not even share a handshake when they come to face to face on Friday.

For Xi, who will arrive in Sochi on Thursday, Russia is the first overseas call in the new year, for the second year running in fact, a fact that has been noted by the official news agency Xinhua as a sign of the close ties between the two giants.

If at all the Chinese and Japanese sides to interact in Sochi, it is expected that Beijing will put across its point of view in no uncertain terms. Perhaps adding to the chill already in place for the winter Olympics in Sochi.

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