**Strained bilateral ties following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s November 2025 remarks on potential Self-Defense Forces involvement in a Taiwan contingency have kept formal China-Japan leader engagement frozen for over a year.** Beijing reacted with trade restrictions, travel advisories, and demands for retraction, while diplomatic channels at the ministerial level stalled despite Takaichi’s later policy statements emphasizing China as an “important neighbor” and calling for constructive relations. Takaichi’s first visit to China as prime minister coincides with the APEC leaders’ summit in Shenzhen on November 18-19, 2026. Multiple diplomatic sources indicate Xi Jinping is unlikely to hold a bilateral summit or private talks with her, leaving Japan as the only major participant without such a meeting. Japanese officials have sought assurances of at least a standard handshake or protocol greeting during group events to avoid a public snub, but no prior groundwork comparable to past thaws exists. A brief informal encounter remains possible but uncertain, while longer-term normalization would require addressing core security and historical issues. The summit timing makes it the immediate test of whether any contact occurs.