Biden in Japan for G7 summit; allies size up rising China, unpredictable Russia

HIROSHIMA (Japan), May 18

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US President Joe Biden and Japan’s Fumio Kishida met for talks in the deeply symbolic city of Hiroshima on Thursday, aiming for closer cooperation in the face of an ascendant China and an unpredictable Russia they see as threatening the post-war order.

The two met ahead of a three-day Group of Seven (G7) summit that starts on Friday in Hiroshima, the first city to be levelled by an atomic bomb.

Beijing urges tokyo for balanced grasp of China-related issues

China is gravely concerned about recent signs of “negative” China-related moves at the G7 Summit and has urged Japan not to turn it into a “political show” against or to curb China, the country’s embassy in Japan said on Thursday. The Japanese side should push for a balanced grasp of China-related issues at the summit, said Yang Yu, interim charge d’affaires of the Chinese embassy in Tokyo. Reuters

Members of the G7, which also includes Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Canada, are increasingly concerned by what they see as China’s economically coercive policies and its rapid accumulation of sensitive technology — as well as Russia’s repeated threats over use of nuclear arms.

But tackling those issues head-on isn’t so easy, officials from G7 member countries have said in private, particularly given the West’s immense reliance on China, the world’s second-largest economy, as both a trade partner and in some cases a manufacturing base.

“The international community is at a crossroads in history,” Prime Minister Kishida told a briefing following his more than hour-long meeting with Biden. The summit would be a chance for G7 members to show the world their commitment to “a free and open international order based on the rule of law”, Kishida said, language that appeared to be aimed at both Russia and China.

Japan, although a longtime buyer of Russian oil, has moved in tandem with G7 sanctions against Moscow following Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. That military action has also raised fears among Japanese that China could be emboldened to take action against neighbouring, self-ruled Taiwan unless Russia is stopped.

The G7 will aim to tighten sanctions on Russia to prevent it skirting measures already in place, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday. — Reuters