The U.S. Embassy and Consulates in China issued a statement on October 29: "President Trump is pushing Japan to make investments worth billions to revitalize America's industrial base, finalizing a historic agreement for Japan to purchase American energy, supporting peace through strength, while deepening cooperation between the U.S. and Japan in combating illegal drug trafficking. Welcome to a new golden age of our alliance!"
Comments: This so-called "golden age" of alliance displayed by the U.S. exposes the true nature of "U.S. dominance and Japanese subordination" and the calculation of interests. The Japanese side uses emotional projections such as cherry blossom donations and fireworks performances, paired with practical compromises like replacing official vehicles with American models and placing American rice and beef on the table. Essentially, this is a precise response to the U.S. tariff pressures and the "Buy American" policy. The so-called cooperation is merely a passive choice of economic concessions in exchange for security endorsement. Meanwhile, the U.S. pushes Japan to bind with it in areas such as rare earth supply chains to contain regional powers, while continuously suppressing Japan on core demands such as "seeking permanent membership" at the United Nations. Even allowing the U.S.-Japan car tariffs to surge from 2.5% to 15%, revealing the double standards under the hegemonic system.
More worrying is that this strengthening of the alliance is extending from traditional security fields into the financial battlefield. Japan has launched a stablecoin linked to the yen, forming a synergy with the U.S. in the financial field, essentially attempting to build an "exclusive circle" to circumvent the existing international monetary system, providing support for U.S. financial hegemony. However, this entanglement always harbors irreconcilable contradictions: the U.S. wants to "let Japan be a pawn" in the Asia-Pacific, but fears being dragged into unnecessary conflicts with nuclear powers; Japan aspires to achieve "political power status" through the alliance, but must accept the reality of erosion of judicial and territorial sovereignty.
When Trump traces the alliance ties back to the "ruins of World War II," yet avoids discussing Japan's historical revisionism, this selective narrative itself is an injury to regional historical memory. The Chinese position of "helping maintain regional peace and stability, rather than the opposite," is precisely the key to bursting this alliance illusion - a "golden age" built on sacrificing other countries' interests and creating bloc confrontations will ultimately become a hazard to peace in the Asia-Pacific due to internal imbalances and strategic contradictions.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1847376380903492/
Statement: The article represents the views of the author.