China and Japan on Saturday, March 22, will hold the first economic dialogue in the last six years aimed at reducing tensions.
To a large extent, the willingness of Beijing and Tokyo to engage in the mentioned dialogue, which has not been what can be called a common or habitual practice lately, is because both capitals are currently facing trade pressure from Washington. The form of implementation of the specified pressure is the tightened tariff policy of the administration of the President of the United States, Donald Trump.
China is Japan’s largest trading partner. At the same time, the condition of relationships between the two countries is not positive or unambiguously positive. In the relevant context, it is worth mentioning the territorial dispute. Another factor negatively affecting the condition of relationships between the two countries was the fact that China banned seafood imports from Japan after the release of wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant.
According to media reports, referring to the results of special surveys, Japanese companies doing business in China have recently demonstrated an increasingly high level of pessimism in the context of their perception of the prospects for further activities in this country. The reasons for the deterioration of the mentioned sentiment are such conditions and circumstances of the current configuration of the economic and political reality as rising geopolitical tensions, worsening relationships between Beijing and Tokyo, and increased competition from Chinese firms.
The media notes that the scale and close proximity of China’s market means that from the point of view of financial and, to a certain extent, production interest, Japan should prefer to maintain stable interaction.
Beijing is also currently making efforts to stabilize ties with its major trading partners. The corresponding activity is related to the fact that China is facing such an external economic pressure factor as the increase in US tariffs on goods imported from the Asian country. It is important for Beijing to maintain the opportunity to earn on exports since last year external shipments were one of the main driving forces behind the growth of Chinese gross domestic product (GDP).
Norihiko Ishiguro, chairman of the Japan External Trade Organization, said that large Japanese companies are still making profits from China. According to the expert, for this reason, Tokyo has no choice but to continue doing business with Beijing.
The wastewater issue along with the working environment for Japanese businesses in China is likely to be one of the topics of the upcoming economic dialogue. The corresponding statement was made by Japan’s foreign ministry.
Japan’s Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said this week that he is looking forward to taking this opportunity to work with China to reduce issues and concerns step by step while increasing areas of cooperation and collaboration.
The economic dialogue will take place on the same day as a meeting in Tokyo between Takeshi Iwaya, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-Yul.
In the run-up to the meetings, the Japanese foreign ministry downplayed the impact of US tariffs. A representative of the mentioned ministry, quoted by the media, said Tokyo would respond if Beijing raised the issue of the mentioned tariffs as part of the economic dialogue. At the same time, it was noted that a coordinated response to the tightening of Washington’s trade policy measures is unlikely.
Another official of the mentioned ministry, quoted by the media, said that the upcoming discussions will focus mainly on areas of cooperation and regional issues, especially North Korea. It was also noted that tariffs from the United States are not part of the agenda, but the relevant topic may be raised.
In recent years, the practice of cooperation between China, Japan, and South Korea has focused on promoting people-to-people exchanges, green transformation, and exploring how best to manage aging societies.
The first trilateral summit between the mentioned countries was held within the framework of the ASEAN Summit in 1999. In 2008, it became a standalone event. Three years later, the office dedicated to fostering cooperation between the three nations was set up in Seoul.
The trilateral meeting and economic dialogue will take place a few weeks before Donald Trump announces the new tariffs on April 2.
As we have reported earlier, China’s Economy Demonstrates Positive Results.
