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US-China relations
OpinionComment
Terry Su
Terry Su

Opinion | Why US-China ‘thaw’ after Biden-Xi summit is bad news for Japan

  • The recent uptick in Sino-US relations has been welcomed around the world but, for Tokyo, the news could be frustrating
  • Biden and Xi’s warm meeting means Japan must continue to wait patiently if it wants to attain its goal of becoming a ‘normal country’ again

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Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (left) shakes hands with President Xi Jinping during their meeting in San Francisco on November 16 on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. Photo: Kyodo
Terry Su
With the world looking on, US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping met in person in San Francisco on November 15, their first meeting since the two posed shaking hands for a photo in Bali, Indonesia, at last year’s Group of 20 summit.
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While most would agree this did not signal a rapprochement between the two competing superpowers or even represent a thaw in the strictest sense of the word, the summit itself did manage to impress. The leaders of the two countries managed a public display of cordial interactions but refused to budge on almost all the major issues with which they are concerned.
It was quite a thing to witness the two presidents walking side by side around the Filoli Estate, with Biden answering a reporter’s question, “How did your meeting go?” with two thumbs up. One couldn’t help but be amazed by the scene in which Biden retrieved a picture from his smartphone, showed it to Xi and asked, “Do you recognise this young man?” Xi answered, smiling, “Oh yes. This was 38 years ago.”

There was Biden’s praise of Xi’s Hongqi limousine and introduction to his own presidential Cadillac. One would almost have thought it was Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida or South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol – the leaders of Washington’s two closest allies in East Asia – who were being treated so warmly.

Xi Jinping poses in front of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge in 1985, when he was Communist Party chief of Zhengding county in northern China’s Hebei province. Photo: Xinhua
Xi Jinping poses in front of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge in 1985, when he was Communist Party chief of Zhengding county in northern China’s Hebei province. Photo: Xinhua

In the meantime, everything of substance remains as it has been between Washington and Beijing. The two sides effectively reaffirmed their agreement to disagree on all the major issues that matter. Calling off the trade war was not on the cards, for one thing.

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