TOKYO: Asked about China at his first press conference last month, President Biden predicted stiff competition and said the U.S. would be relentless in explaining to the world Beijing’s human rights abuses.
A week earlier, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga was asked a similar question at his own press conference. He said Tokyo and Beijing have several problems between them and he left them there.
Hesitation among allies to confront China head-on is a challenge to Mr. Biden’s foreign policy, who stresses working with them to amplify U.S. global power.
This Friday, Mr. Suga will become the first foreign leader to personally meet Mr. Biden, a distinction that has deceived Japan. However, Tokyo’s political and business leaders are uneasy about facing public confrontation with China, holding out hope for a modus operandi that will restrict Beijing’s military but maintain lucrative trade. more or less intact.
“Japan is making efforts to ensure that distrust of security does not affect economic ties,” said Rumi Aoyama, a professor at Waseda University.