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China unlikely to apply ‘economic coercion’ against Japan amid slowdown as Tokyo builds ‘safety net’
- A top Japanese business delegation has failed to get Beijing to address Tokyo’s concerns such as China’s anti-espionage law and seafood ban
- Japan has been expanding its economic capabilities in various areas in a bid to ‘diversify away from China’
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Beijing is not expected to resort to economic tools to exert pressure on Tokyo over bilateral issues despite a high-powered Japanese delegation returning from China last week virtually empty-handed.
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Analysts say China can ill-afford to turn to “economic coercion” while national security concerns appear to have emerged as a bigger concern compared with the economy.
Last Thursday, a delegation of senior Japanese business leaders led by the head of the Japan-China Economic Association (JCEA) Shindo Kosei visited China, the first such trip in four years.
In a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, the Japanese delegation pressed for a return to visa-free travel as this would induce more Japanese companies to invest in China, according to JECA officials who briefed journalists after the discussion.
While Li pledged to improve China’s business environment, he called for reciprocity on visas and delivered little else in areas that the delegation sought, such as concerns about the safety of Japanese citizens in China and bans on the import of seafood and other food products.
In a separate meeting with the Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao, the delegation also raised concerns about China’s anti-espionage law, difficulties in bidding for government contracts and rules relating to cross-border data transfers.
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