Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan, left, has been tasked by President Xi Jinping to handle Japan relations. (Nikkei Montage/ Source photo by Reuters)

Xi moves right-hand man to Japan affairs as ties with West sour

China turns to a familiar crisis management formula: flatter thy neighbor

KATSUJI NAKAZAWA, Nikkei senior staff writer

December 12, 2019 12:02 JST

TOKYO -- Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan, the closest aide to President Xi Jinping and the former enforcer of the leader's tough anti-corruption campaign, has been tasked with a new mandate: improving ties with Japan.

China historically has turned to its relations with Japan to escape a crisis. After the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, Beijing moved to bolster ties with Tokyo to break its international isolation.