With the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit set for the 18th–19th in Shenzhen, China, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Chinese President Xi Jinping appear to have failed to arrange an official meeting, according to reports.
On the 11th, Kyodo News cited multiple sources on Japan-China relations to report the development. A Chinese source told Kyodo, “Among the major participants, Japan will be the only country not holding talks with President Xi.” China has rejected Japan’s requests for official talks in protest after Prime Minister Takaichi hinted in November last year that Japan might intervene in the event of a Taiwan contingency.
Kyodo News projected that while Xi is expected to lavish attention on leaders from the United States, Russia, and others at the APEC summit, Prime Minister Takaichi will likely be given the cold shoulder. Bloomberg News also recently reported that Japanese authorities have asked China not to snub Takaichi diplomatically and to treat her on par with other leaders.
Kyodo News said the Japanese government intends to keep pushing until the last minute to secure a meeting with Xi, but the prevailing view is that, for now, the realistic goal is a brief handshake or short encounter with the president.
Contrary to some expectations in Japan that APEC could improve Japan-China ties, the chill between the two countries appears likely to drag on. In this climate, the Japanese government is also wary that APEC could set up a dynamic in which its ally the United States moves closer to China and Russia.
Earlier, on the 8th, U.S. President Donald Trump said he expected to meet with President Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the Kremlin said preparations were underway. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs also confirmed on the 4th that it was communicating with the countries involved, making the potential first-ever three-way summit among the U.S., China, and Russia the top focus of this APEC.
The Mainichi Shimbun reported that the Japanese government conveyed concerns to the United States regarding a potential U.S.-China-Russia leaders’ meeting at the APEC summit. The U.S. side replied that it “fully understands Japan’s concerns,” according to the report. Observers see Tokyo’s move as reflecting worries that, if the United States—its biggest diplomatic and security partner—and the Takaichi administration’s rivals China and Russia, whose military expansion it seeks to check, appear on friendly terms on the APEC stage where China is expected to snub Japan, Japan’s sense of being sidelined could become more pronounced.
