In talks with Putin last month, Xi did not support Japan’s claim over Russian-held islands off Hokkaido – source

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1. Excerpt from the linked content:^1

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

   >Xi told Putin in their meetings in Moscow that China “does not take either side” regarding the territorial row, in a shift to neutrality from China’s position indicated by then Chinese leader Mao Zedong in 1964 to view the four disputed islands as belonging to Japan, the source said.

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

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

   >The change in China’s position could make it more difficult to settle the decades-long dispute as Moscow is unlikely to concede on the issue now with backing from Beijing, observers say.

   ^1 Kyodo News, 3 Apr. 2023, https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2023/04/a152cd28ed5b-chinas-xi-did-not-support-japans-claim-over-russian-held-isles.html

2. Did anyone expect him to?