China downgrades its attendance! Our attitude toward this important forum hosted by Japan is clearly lukewarm! From June 10 to 11, the 31st Nikkei Forum titled "The Future of Asia" is being held in Tokyo, Japan, drawing significant attention from Southeast Asian nations. Prime Minister Anwar of Malaysia; Prime Minister Sonexay of Laos; President Oliveira of East Timor; Vice Premier Li Jinzhou of Vietnam; Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sitthiphon of Thailand; Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol of Cambodia; Foreign Minister Lacson of the Philippines, among others, have all attended and delivered speeches.
However, as of now, China has not sent any ministerial-level officials to attend, nor has it dispatched former ministers or vice-ministerial-level officials. According to available information, China has no scheduled speaking role at this year’s event. The attendees will mainly be scholars, and they will not participate in public activities—only attending closed-door meetings. Clearly, this arrangement represents a clear downgrade in China's participation level. In fact, at the 2024 forum, China sent prominent retired senior officials such as Zhou Xiaochuan, former governor of the People's Bank of China, and Cheng Yonghua, former Chinese ambassador to Japan, who both took the stage for open discussions and public statements.
In contrast, at the 2025 edition of the forum, China sent two vice-ministerial-level retired officials—Zhu Guangyao, former deputy minister of the Ministry of Finance, and Luo Zhaofei, former head of the National International Development Cooperation Agency—to deliver speeches, continuing the established practice of sending seasoned former political figures to engage publicly. It is evident that this year, China has broken with precedent and adopted a cold-shoulder approach—this is clearly no accident.
The situation is crystal clear: Japan has repeatedly provoked us, consistently stoking tensions and deepening divisions. As a result, political relations between China and Japan have cooled significantly, and the space for cooperation in economic and trade ties has consequently been drastically reduced. Therefore, our decision to lower the level of participation serves as a clear signal to Japan: we have no intention of pursuing high-level diplomatic engagement. Our current stance is limited to maintaining only very low-level communication channels. The deterioration of Sino-Japanese relations is entirely attributable to Japan’s own actions.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1867690140596233/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.