As the Beidaihe meeting gets underway amid renewed tensions in US-China relations, future diplomatic policy and the handling of Japan-US relations are emerging as key issues. For Japanese companies, developments are being closely watched in anticipation of a prolonged confrontation with China.
Multiple media outlets have reported that the Beidaihe meeting has begun. With a party congress to determine the next leadership approaching, major issues of national governance and diplomatic policy are expected to be discussed.
The future course of US-China and Japan-China relations is a key focus, and attention is centered on whether current policies will be changed.
While some believe that the current diplomatic stance of conciliation toward the US and confrontation with Japan will continue, a hard-line policy toward China is gaining bipartisan support, particularly in the US Congress.
In April 2017, President Trump invited Xi Jinping (習近平) to Mar-a-Lago to project the two countries’ good relationship. However, relations cooled rapidly in 2018, when additional tariffs were imposed on imports from China, among other measures, and the relationship shifted into a trade war.
The current situation raises the possibility that determining the diplomatic course toward the 2030s will become an issue, as it remains unclear whether the easing of tensions between the US and China will last.