During the summit between American President, Donald Trump, and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, held in Beijing between May 13 and 15, the Japan watched every gesture and statement of the two leaders with concern.
In a tense standoff with China over the Taiwan issue, the government of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi had indeed tried to organize a summit with the American president in Japan, just before his trip to Beijing. The idea was to prevent a potential rapprochement between the two superpowers. Tokyo remains concerned about the idea of a “G2” between the United States and China, raised by Donald Trump in the fall. “This would imply a disengagement of the United States in East Asia in terms of security. Deterrence against China in the Taiwan issue, as well as against North Korea and its nuclear program, would be weakened,” warned the Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper.
However, this Japanese diplomatic effort did not bear fruit. Trump rejected this invitation to go directly to China, even though Scott Bessent, his Treasury Secretary, went to Japan to exchange views with Sanae Takaichi on May 12.
Prolonging a ceasefire
Rejected by the Republican, Tokyo was therefore disappointed.
