CCP’s Jealousy Over Japanese Prime Minister Meeting US President First

Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and U.S. President Joe Biden hold a joint news conference in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, on April 16, 2021. Tom Brenner/Reuters

Commentary

On April 14, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s Xinhua News Agency reported that Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga would visit the United States from April 15–18, becoming the first foreign head of state to meet face-to-face with President Biden since he took office in January; the words were full of jealousy.

In early January, before Biden took office, the CCP began to make frequent moves to contact the United States, hoping to be the first among all countries to meet the new U.S. administration. However, Biden finished communicating with all the world leaders before he spoke with Xi Jinping on the phone. Not only did Xi fail to be the first to speak with the Biden administration, but he was deliberately left out, which likely annoyed the CCP.

However, the treatment the CCP had received was self-inflicted. Cui Tiankai, the Chinese ambassador to the United States, had been invited to the Biden inauguration ceremony, but it seems that Cui missed the opportunity to communicate with the new U.S. administration face-to-face on the first day, as he seemed absent from the ceremony.

Maybe it was because Taiwan’s representatives were also invited.

The high-level talks in Alaska in March with the United States were a hard-earned opportunity for the CCP, but its diplomats turned themselves into wolf warriors at the meeting. At the same time, the CCP has continuously challenged the United States with its military, while domestically, it has escalated its anti-U.S. propaganda and incited nationalist sentiment among the Chinese. It has even publicly drawn at least three red lines for the United States not to cross over. In addition, it has imposed retaliatory sanctions on the United States and Europe.

Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi speaks at a dinner hosted by the U.S.-China Business Council and the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations in Washington, on July 11, 2013. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

The CCP has been very aggressive and tried to force the new U.S. government to make concessions.

The Quad—an alliance of the United States, Japan, India, and Australia—met in March to discuss India-Pacific affairs, completely excluding the Chinese Communist regime. After that, the U.S.-Japan ministerial level “2+2 talks” directly targeting the CCP.

The new U.S. administration has been forced to adopt a tough stance against the CCP.

With the tension between the United States and China, the CCP had to pretend to soften again and seek opportunities for high-level dialogue. So far there has been no result. Then, the Japanese Prime Minister was invited to visit the United States.

How could the CCP not be jealous?

This report of Xinhua News Agency quotes an analyst as saying that the Japanese Prime Minister has two purposes in his visit. Externally, he hopes to consolidate the Japan-U.S. alliance for benefits in the regional game, while internally he hopes to save his approval ratings in the cabinet through his diplomatic performance, winning himself extra support for the House of Representatives election and retaining his position as Prime Minister.

“However,” Xinhua says, “this wishful thinking may not really ring true.”

The jealousy expressed by the CCP mouthpiece shows that the CCP doesn’t have anything to say. However, Xinhua at least made a true statement that Japan “has always regarded the Japan-U.S. alliance as the ‘baseline’ of Japanese diplomacy.”

Isn’t this true for the CCP as well?

The CCP has repeatedly pretended that it runs its own affairs well. In reality, it is always concerned about the United States, or, to put it in another way, the CCP cannot make it without the United States.

Li Keqiang, the CCP’s Premier, has said recently that “‘decoupling’ does no good to either side,” and he hoped to “safeguard the safety and stability of the industrial and supply chains.”

Workers producing LED chips at a factory in Huaian city, in China's eastern Jiangsu Province, on June 16, 2020. STR/AFP via Getty Images

The CCP is likely to lose its access to the U.S. market, which is only one of its headaches. As U.S. science and technology sanctions constrain the CCP in many fields, the CCP is expected to be unable to run its own affairs soon.

Over the past few decades, because the CCP has embraced the United States, it has received U.S. funding, technology, and markets, which is why CCP officials have become extremely wealthy, and now they are hurriedly sending their children and money to the United States. The CCP obviously values the relationship between China and the United States, and apparently cannot do without the United States, but it still wants to put on an air of arrogance and wants to pretend to fight with the United States. Japan, on the contrary, is very pragmatic. With its military and national defense relying on the United States, and its economy clinging to the U.S. market, each of the Japanese prime ministers wants to seize the first opportunity to meet with each new administration of the United States.

“After the Biden administration came to power, it has increased its investment of resources in all aspects of the Indo-Pacific region. … Under such circumstances, Japan has strengthened its catering to the U.S. regional strategy, and its diplomatic and security reliance on the U.S. has increased significantly. Moreover, it is increasingly acting as the middleman between the U.S. and countries in the Indo-Pacific region,” the Xinhua report said.

The CCP is obviously disappointed to see Japan seize the opportunity, but it is precisely the CCP that has created such a good opportunity for Japan. Since the CCP was bent on confronting the United States in the Pacific, the United States will naturally strengthen its alliance with Japan, which will undoubtedly enhance Japan’s position in Asia.

So how could Japan pass up such an opportunity?

The Xinhua News Agency report also said that “such behavior is actually more likely to undermine the overall situation of regional peace and stability.”

In my opinion, the reality is just the opposite. The CCP’s insistence on hegemony, military expansion, and an arms race is destroying the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region, forcing the United States and Japan to work more closely together.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping (L) speaks after reviewing the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy fleet in the South China Sea on April 12, 2018. Li Gang/Xinhua via AP

When the CCP first came to power, it also rejected the olive branch from the United States and turned to the former Soviet Union. As a result, the United States chose Japan as its biggest ally in Asia. It was the CCP that gave up the opportunity to Japan and delayed the establishment of diplomatic relations with the United States.

Now, the CCP’s top echelons have once again created tension in the relationship between China and the United States, and have so far refused to make a direct statement to soften the relationship, creating another opportunity for Japan to enjoy the first meeting. If the CCP insists on having its own way, how many Chinese people have to pay for the image and ambition of the CCP’s top officials?

In contrast, the Japanese Prime Minister works hard for the safety and welfare of his people. The difference between a democratically elected prime minister and a dictatorial regime is evident.

Not only Japan, but also India, Vietnam, Southeast Asian countries, and even South America, are all actively approaching the United States, receiving the supply chains transferred from China by American and European companies, and hoping to be part of the new economic layout of the United States in the Indo-Pacific region. The CCP has created opportunities for its neighboring countries, but it is losing everything itself. The world factory is collapsing, and the CCP only cares about fomenting nationalism and spreading jealousy. The people of China are having an increasingly difficult time, and the CCP is still dragging China to the brink of war.

Upon seeing the best opportunities ruined by the CCP, if the Chinese people still want to live a good life, they can no longer let the CCP continue to do whatever it wants. This regime is losing its mind and ignoring the interests of the Chinese people.

It is then time to disintegrate this regime as soon as possible. Let’s start all over again.

Zhong Yuan is a researcher focused on China’s political system, the country’s democratization process, human rights situation, and Chinese citizens’ livelihood. He began writing commentaries for the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times in 2020.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.