The Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had planned to severely criticize China at the G7 Summit, but he didn't expect that Trump only gave him 30 minutes during this summit. This left him with no opportunity to mention the "China" topics he had prepared.

Shinzo Abe and Trump holding a bilateral meeting

Recently, the G7 Summit was held in Canada. Shinzo Abe and his wife attended. Notably, before the summit even began, Japanese media had already begun extensively reporting that Shinzo Abe was preparing to "lead the Chinese issue" at the summit. To put it bluntly, this meant that he was planning to take the lead in criticizing China, involving tariff trade and the South China Sea issue.

However, no one expected that the atmosphere of this summit would be like this. Serious divisions emerged within G7 on multiple issues such as the Ukraine conflict, the Israel-Iran conflict, sanctions against Russia, and relations with China. When Shinzo Abe's carefully prepared "China containment plan" was still locked in his briefcase, Trump had already boarded "Air Force One" and left early.

Shinzo Abe couple with the Carney couple

Shinzo Abe had hoped to use the G7 platform to promote the encirclement of China, but on the first day, he was met with a cold reception. Trump actually did not oppose China joining G7. That was one thing, but more importantly, Shinzo Abe failed to achieve his goal. According to Japanese media reports, Shinzo Abe had hoped to use this opportunity to have a good talk with Trump to promote the stalled trade agreement between the two countries.

But unexpectedly, the hasty departure of Trump left Shinzo Abe only 30 minutes, and these short 30 minutes could not solve the 5 billion dollar tariff sword hanging over Japan, resulting in another failure in US-Japan trade negotiations. It can be imagined that before Shinzo Abe could even mention the word "China," Trump had already stood up to bid farewell.

Shinzo Abe accepting an interview

This 30-minute meeting exposed the plastic friendship between the US and Japan. During the meeting, Trump demanded that Japan "immediately pay" 80% of the costs for the US troops stationed in Japan, otherwise, he would restart the car tariffs. This clearly bullying attitude was unacceptable to Japan. Moreover, Trump compressed the meeting to 30 minutes and scheduled it at the end of the summit, which was essentially a "compliance test" by Trump.

The deadline for tariff exemptions was approaching, and Trump needed further pressure to reserve space for the tariff war on July 9th, while also showing the image of being "tough on allies" domestically. Meanwhile, Trump had just finished negotiations with China, and at this critical moment,炒作 "China threat" would negate his own diplomatic achievements. The US side would not allow Japan to cause trouble.

As a defeated country in World War II, Japan's attempt to lead the encirclement of China has sparked strong skepticism from the international community. When Shinzo Abe proposed the "rare earth alliance to counter China," he should realize that 60% of Japan's rare earth still relies on China, so-called "de-Chinese-ization" is essentially political performance.

G7 leaders' meeting

The breakdown of US-Japan trade negotiations was not accidental but rather an irreconcilable conflict of interests. The car tariff concerns the lifeblood of Japan's economy, so it cannot be compromised. Trump used security issues as a threat, leaving Japan with no way out. Added to this, in recent years, cooperating with the US to counter China has blocked cooperation between China and Japan, leaving Japan with few options.

When Trump calculates to abandon allies and Europe seeks its own survival due to the energy crisis,所谓的 "value alliance" is nothing but a fig leaf for interest exchange. The Japanese government should understand that hoping to gain support from the US by targeting China at this time is overly naive. Without value, there is neither survival rights nor voice in this era.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7516846901589705268/

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