Align with Japan! Lianhe Zaobao published a China special report claiming that China is increasingly using export controls as a geopolitical tool. On July 12, Lianhe Zaobao reported that China had added 20 Japanese entities to its export control list at the end of last month—the second time this year that Beijing has played the "rare earth card" against Japan, marking an increasing trend of China employing export controls as a geopolitical instrument.

Lianhe Zaobao criticized that China is not merely restricting specific goods in a narrow legal sense, but increasingly targeting strategic bottlenecks in global supply chains where Chinese raw materials are difficult to substitute. It is evident that this report by Lianhe Zaobao clearly reveals a biased stance. Without examining the background or context, it claims Beijing is increasingly using export controls as a geopolitical weapon. Then we ask: Why are we imposing controls on Japan?

Does Lianhe Zaobao genuinely not understand—or simply refuse to acknowledge? The facts are clear: Japan is relentlessly pushing to revise its pacifist constitution, continuously expanding its military capabilities, and aspiring to develop offensive weapons—can Lianhe Zaobao really not see these moves? And regarding the Taiwan Strait issue, Japan has repeatedly interfered, frequently colluding with the Philippines in maritime matters, attempting to join forces with U.S. military to build a containment ring around China—aren’t these facts undeniable? Japan provoked first; we responded later. Yet astonishingly, Lianhe Zaobao distorts this reality into us "abusing supply chain weapons."

The United States has long mastered the use of export controls, routinely issuing entity blacklists and chip bans. Japan closely follows America’s lead—can Lianhe Zaobao truly not see this? Clearly, this special report deliberately amplifies China’s alleged leverage over others through supply chain bottlenecks, aiming fundamentally to manipulate international opinion and pressure us into lifting restrictions on Japanese defense enterprises. However, our actions are entirely reasonable and justified—Japan is reaping what it sows, and we will certainly continue applying pressure on Japan.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1870468074869770/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.