Article: ‘Good start’: China bids to reset ties with Japan amid Trump tariff storm
The article reports that China is seeking stronger trading ties with Japan amidst a dwindling domestic economy and the ongoing Trade War with the United States. With Trump’s Trade War with China, which is only set to worsen as he pledged to double the current 10 percent tax on Chinese imports, Beijing is trying to reconcile economic ties with its Eastern neighbor, which could also be seen as a move to place pressure on the United States as I see it. As US – Chinese economic tensions increase, China is trying all it can to ensure its own economic stability, whether that is through a domestic endeavor of emboldening its private sector tech firms, or reaching out to its neighboring countries. Both of those listed strategies China is currently pursuing are not likely to be of much success, but trying to vamp up trading relations with Japan will certainly have its limits as it has been a strong security ally of the global hegemon since the end of WW2. In regards to the New World Order, it is clear that if the US were to successfully pursue less hostile, or even allied, relations with Russia, that leaves the only major revisionist power (China) all alone. China would truly be in a much worse situation, which is why I can see them leaning towards their neighboring East Asian allies for stronger relations, however much they can. From Japan’s perspective, this is a tricky endeavor that must have balance. Becoming too close to China, as seen with Trump who’s foreign policy is keen on holding others’ accountable through economic coercion, could leave Japan with US imposed tariffs. And given that Japan mainly exports tech and machinery, if they were to aid China with any sort of trading of technology, such as digital circuits which is a major resource Tokyo exports, that would likely antagonize the United States even more as the tech aspect of Chinese – US relations is at the forefront of their tensions. Overall, this highlights the interesting regional relations in Eastern Asia. China is the largest regional power, yet unlike other regional hegemons, it is at odds with its neighbors as many of them are status-quo powers in a region dominated by a revisionist power. China, despite being the realm power, isn’t the typical realm power in the sense that it gets to act as a regional hegemon due to the global balance of power.