On October 13, 2023, Director-General of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs of the Foreign Ministry Hong Liang and Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan NAMAZU Hiroyuki co-chaired in Yangzhou the 16th round of consultations of the High-level Consultation Mechanism on Maritime Affairs between China and Japan, and had an in-depth exchange of views on maritime affairs between the two countries. Representatives of the departments related to maritime affairs from the two countries were present.

China expounded its position on issues related to the East China Sea, Diaoyu Dao, the South China Sea, and the Taiwan Strait, among others, and urged Japan to earnestly respect China's territory, sovereignty and security concerns, and to stop any negative words and moves on the above issues. China deplores Japan's discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean, and asks Japan to properly handle it with a responsible attitude.

The two sides agreed to continue to adhere to the purpose and principle of building the East China Sea into a sea of peace, cooperation and friendship, maintain close communication on maritime affairs, work hard to manage and control differences, strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation, and jointly safeguard the stable maritime situation.

The two sides agreed on principle to hold the 17th round of consultations of the High-level Consultation Mechanism on Maritime Affairs between China and Japan in Japan in the first half of next year.