Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng to Visit Osaka-Kansai Expo, in Possible Attempt at Warming Relations
The Liberal Democratic Party's secretary general, Hiroshi Moriyama, who is also chairman of the Japan-China Friendship Parliamentarians' Union, will likely meet with the vice premier in Osaka and ask that Beijing loan giant pandas to Japan.
When Moriyama visited China in April, he asked a senior member of the Chinese Communist Party about borrowing the pandas.
China has tried to improve its relationship with Japan as tensions rise with the United States. By having He visit, it is thought China is seeking to show the importance it places on ties with Japan.
Four pandas were recently returned from Wakayama Prefecture to China, and there are now only two of the bears left in Japan, at the Ueno Zoological Gardens in Tokyo. These two pandas are scheduled to be returned to China by Feb. 20 next year.
The Chinese vice premier will also hold meetings with Japanese business groups, apparently to seek more investments in China and more person-to-person exchanges.
He may encourage the Japanese government to strengthen ties with Beijing, as Japan has been struggling in tariff negotiations with the United States.
Japan plans to dispatch a cabinet-level official to attend China's national day event at the Expo.
Since March 2023, He has coordinated macro-economic policy for the administration of Chinese President Xi Jinping, and he has also led tariff negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump's administration.
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With the return to power of U.S. President Donald Trump, who champions an America First policy, international order is being shaken, putting pressure on Japan to restructure its diplomatic and security policies. Each political party in Japan needs to present its strategy through debate in the upcoming House of Councillors election. Postwar Japan has relied on U.S. deterrence for security, and achieved economic growth under a free trade system. However, the Trump administration views alliances as liabilities rather than assets, and the relationship that has been the linchpin of the alliance is creaking under the strain. Washington has imposed high tariffs on even allies and has also demanded increased defense spending. The security environment surrounding Japan is becoming increasingly severe. China has continued with its military expansion, and is boosting its maritime advancements into the East and South China seas. 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Both the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan have pledged to "fundamentally strengthen defense capabilities," but they have not provided a blueprint showing how far they intend to go. Japan should not be preparing defense capabilities based on numerical targets in the first place. Rather, it is essential to first accurately assess the military capabilities and intentions of neighboring countries and identify threats. Strategies should then be developed to address these threats, and the necessary equipment and other items should be selected accordingly. Addressing personnel shortages in the Self-Defense Forces due to Japan's declining birth rate is another urgent matter. Increasing defense spending could impact other policies like social security. There should be in-depth discussions about the appropriate scale relative to national strength. In light of China's moves to increase military pressure, such as its deployment of two aircraft carriers in the Western Pacific, it is important to maintain deterrence. But rather than just strengthening defense capabilities, efforts need to be made to build a stable relationship with repeated talks so as not to heighten tensions. Negotiations between Tokyo and Washington over high tariffs have cast a shadow over Japan's upper house election. Trump's approach not only undermines Japan's national interests but also threatens to disrupt global supply chains for goods and services. A strategy to uphold the free trade system is necessary. The European Union is cooperating with member countries of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership to establish new trade rules. Japan, having benefited from free trade, should take an active role. Strategy to strengthen alliance needed The goal should be multilateral diplomacy. To restore international order damaged by ongoing wars in Europe and the Middle East and Trump's high-handed tariff policies, it is essential for middle powers like Japan and Europe to band together. Japan must further strengthen ties with countries sharing values of freedom and democracy, such as Australia and South Korea, as well as with members of emerging and developing countries collectively known as the Global South, including India and those in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). While the words and actions of Trump, who is prioritizing his own country, have shaken the prestige of the United States, China is increasing its presence in Asia. It is leveraging geoeconomic strategies like the Belt and Road Initiative and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to draw in ASEAN countries targeted by high tariffs. Japan has built trust with Asian countries since the postwar period through economic assistance and other such measures. 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