APEC: in Bangkok, Xi Jinping and Fumio Kishida go around the topics of the moment
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping this Thursday, November 17, 2022 in Bangkok, Thailand.
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Text by: RFI Follow
6 mins
The Japanese Prime Minister and the Chinese President met bilaterally, this Thursday, November 17 in Bangkok, on the eve of the summit of the leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), an intergovernmental forum meeting all this week in the Thai capital.
This was the first meeting between MM.
Xi and Kishida, at the head of the two main powers of the continent.
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This Thursday, November 17 in Bangkok, at the end of their meeting, the Japanese Fumio Kishida said he informed the Chinese Xi Jinping of several "
serious concerns
" of his government on regional security issues.
The Japanese Prime Minister first did so “
about the situation in the East China Sea, in particular the Senkaku Islands
”, which the Japanese archipelago occupies and administers, but which Beijing claims under the name of Diaoyu Islands.
He adds that he also did so "
about Chinese military activities including ballistic missile launches from China
", "
and I stressed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait
“, he explained.
Fumio Kishida was speaking to reporters.
He also said he had "
agreed
" with Chinese President Xi Jinping to "
strengthen communication
" between the two countries in the field of security.
"
On North Korea, I expressed our expectation that China will play a role, particularly in the UN Security Council
," continued Mr. Kishida, a few hours after a new ballistic missile launch by Pyongyang.
And the Japanese leader to reiterate, to be complete, the position of his archipelago on the subject of "
human rights
", or even "
the detention of nationals
" Japanese in the People's Republic of China currently.
►Read also: The Apec summit intends to demonstrate the growing importance of the Asia-Pacific zone
The war in Ukraine does not simplify anything
China and Japan are the world's second and third largest economies respectively, and are important trading partners.
But their relationship has deteriorated in recent years.
If the two leaders had never met face-to-face, they had spoken on the telephone in October 2021, after Mr. Kishida came to power.
In December 2019, the late Shinzo Abe had met Xi Jinping.
Last September, the PRC and Japan celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the normalization of their diplomatic relations.
They did so in an atmosphere that was not very warm, due to the various points of tension.
Regarding Taiwan, Tokyo is a loyal ally of Washington, which supports the Taipei regime.
In addition, in August, Chinese missiles fired during military exercises around Taiwan reportedly fell into Japan's EEZ.
Tokyo had then protested against what it described as increasing air and maritime violations in recent months.
Japan regularly complains about Chinese maritime activity around the islands it calls Senkaku.
“
The context of the war in Ukraine does not simplify the relationship, because China has rather supported Russia
”, confides on RFI Guibourg Delamotte, lecturer in political science at Inalco, specialist in Japan.
From the Japanese perspective, seeing China start to outline a little more reluctant position and express it, let's say openly, on the war in Ukraine is something that Japan welcomes.
Guibourg Delamotte, lecturer at Inalco
Jelena Tomic
Japan seeks the middle ground
“
Japan has indicated that it wants to increase its defense spending significantly, to be approximately at the level recommended by NATO, that is to say approximately 2% of gross domestic product, which which is a very substantial increase
”, recalls Guibourg Delamotte on our antennas.
It is both the North Korean context and the Chinese context that explains it, that is to say in particular the North Korean missiles, and the increase in tensions around Taiwan.
Japan is very invested and concerned about what can happen, and therefore seeks to dissuade China from any action, from any violent intervention.
He lets Taiwan know that if China ever had to use force, Japan would be there to support it.
At the time of China's exercises around Taiwan last summer, after Madame Pelosi's visit, Japan therefore declared a state of emergency, then prepared for a possible intervention.
Tokyo is in fact seeking the right balance with China, between its economic interests and the need to diversify trade.
"
It is not only requests from the American ally, but finally, it is also a concern of Japan not to be too dependent on China
", comments Guibourg Delamotte.
In 2010, in fact, Japan realized, in the context of political tensions, that China was withholding its exports to Japan of “rare earths”.
So Japan, since then, has learned from this, it is fully aware that China can use these dependencies on strategic materials.
It too, like the United States, seeks to develop its links, to secure its supplies, and therefore, this is what explains the importance attached by Mr. Kishida to the concept of “economic security”.
Guibourg Delamotte, lecturer at Inalco
Jelena Tomic
“We Chinese hope to see peace”
After this first handshake, MM.
Xi and Kishida will meet again on Friday for the summit of leaders of the 21 APEC countries, which this year will be attended by French President Emmanuel Macron, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and US Vice President Kamala Harris. .
Joe Biden, for his part, was unable to travel to Thailand, detained in Washington by the marriage of his granddaughter.
In the absence of the number one American, it is therefore his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping who occupies the front of the regional scene in Bangkok.
The United States will nevertheless host the next summit of this forum in 2023.
In the eyes of the American president, who met Xi Jinping on Monday in Bali, on the sidelines of the G20 summit, the strong man of popular China can use his influence to dissuade the North Korean regime of dictator Kim Jong-un from carry out a nuclear test, which would be the first since 2017, and which worries Washington and Seoul.
"
More than anything, we Chinese hope to see peace and stability
," Xi said in written remarks sent to APEC economic leaders.
"
Asia-Pacific is no one's backyard and should not become a land of dispute for the great powers
," assured the Chinese president.
No attempt to start a new cold war will be allowed by the people or by our time.
This APEC summit comes as the last stage of an intense diplomatic sequence of about ten days, in particular for the Chinese head of state who had not left his country since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. 19, after the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Phnom Penh and the G20 in Bali.
►Also listen: Indo-Pacific strategy: France "has a historical heritage in this region"
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APEC
China
Japan
Xi Jinping
Fumio Kishida
Diplomacy
Thailand