Time to Improve Bilateral Relationship

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco, U.S., where the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit was held. Both leaders agreed on consulting each other to deal with the issues between their nations, including discharge of processed water in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the sea, and reaffirmed “the mutually beneficial strategic relationship.” Although Kishida stressed his achievement in the meeting, it is unclear how much that diplomatic slogan will work in the currently exacerbated bilateral relationship.

It was the first meeting for them since they met in Bangkok, Thailand, a year ago. “As the two big powers leading the region and the international community,” Kishida said to Xi, “we are responsible for world peace and prosperity. I want to cooperate with you for the bright future of next generation.” Xi hoped constructing new relationship between China and Japan with reaffirming the mutually beneficial strategic relationship.

 

“The mutually beneficial strategic relationship” was the concept China used in the summit meeting between Hu Jintao and Shinzo Abe in 2006. The first country Abe visited as the prime minister was not U.S., but China. Abe’s predecessor, Jun-ichiro Koizumi, was a prime minister who had built extremely close relationship with U.S. China needed to bring Japanese administration after Koizumi closer to itself.

 

But Abe reached U.S. in his second term and reinforced security cooperation. That was succeeded by Yoshihide Suga. It can be the time for China to reach Japanese administration to separate Japan from U.S. “The mutually beneficial strategic relationship” is the expression China uses when it wants to improve the relationship with Japan.

 

However, the situation of the bilateral relationship has drastically changed from that in 2006. China overtook Japan as the second largest economy in the world. In the competition with U.S., China seeks a greater leadership in the world, reaching some countries opposing to U.S. or “global south” countries. But the leadership shows certain decline with the escalation in the War in Ukraine and exchanges of military attack between Israel and Hamas. China’s One-Belt-One-Road development project is in a reviewing phase.

 

While Japanese government has been in short of persuasive explanation on discharge of processed water from Fukushima into the Pacific Ocean, China’s firm opposition has not achieved broad support. In the meeting with Kishida, Xi accepted the solution through conversation, not demanding immediate stop of releasing the water. Prioritizing economic boost on each country, both leaders agreed on resuming the high-level economic dialogue.

 

Notwithstanding, there are a lot of problem between Japan and China. Kishida demanded Xi immediate removal of buoys set by China within the exclusive economic zone of Japan in the East China Sea. Chinese government arrested a Japanese businessman with suspect of spying. China may concern Japan’s value-oriented diplomacy to Asia-Pacific nations with the concept of free and openness. It is too early to evaluate the meeting as a great step for improvement of the bilateral relationship.

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