With US President Donald Trump’s Indo-Pacific strategy still in its infancy, Japan is seeking improved relations with China to boost its economic growth, argues Chen Yang, a PhD candidate in sociology at Toyo University in Japan.
Writing for The Paper, Chen said that at Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's meeting with Shinzo Abe of Japan in the Philippines on Nov 13, Abe had demonstrated an active interest in China's Belt and Road Initiative. Chen said that Abe’s economic stimulus plans – known as Abenomics – had failed to address critical issues in the country, and the Japanese leader was seeking to benefit from China’s growth.
Abe has demonstrated a clear agenda in his attempt to improve relations with China. He is seeking visits between the two nations' leaders. Nevertheless, the prime minister has said little about the long-term development of relations, which Chen said suggests there will be little significant improvement in the next couple of years.
Abe voiced an interest in China’s Belt and Road Initiative because Japan is playing an important role in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the newly-proposed US Indo-Pacific strategy, Zhang said. Although likely to soften its opposition to China, Japan will continue to seek to contain China’s rise in some areas, he said.
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