Japan is trying to offer economic and trade incentives to ensure the U.S. continues the Asia-Pacific security strategy of the Obama administration in order to act as a counterweight to China, but the move will prove to be futile and put Japan in an awkward situation, Chinese experts said.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe headed to Washington on Thursday to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump. The two will spend the weekend at the Mar-a-Lago in Florida and play golf, media reported.
"However dazzling the program of the visit may be, the essence of the visit is to strike a deal," Gao Hong, deputy director with the Institute of Japanese Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.
Gao said that "unlike the UK and Australia, who enjoy a good relationship with China which could offset any negative U.S. impact on their economies, Abe's misguided foreign policy, which considers China as an enemy, has left the country with no other choice but to rely on the U.S. and follow it."
Abe will bring a package Tokyo says could create 700,000 U.S. jobs through private-public investment in infrastructure, Reuters reported.
During the campaign, Trump frequently called on Japan to pay more to maintain the U.S. military facilities in the country.
In the first few days of his office, Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, which Abe has long viewed as an effective counterweight to China in the region. Trump also accused Japan of being a currency manipulator, which Abe is meant to counter during the visit, media reported.
"In a situation in which security relations in the Asia-Pacific region are increasingly severe, it is very important to demonstrate the unshakable U.S.-Japan alliance at home and abroad," Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said about Abe's trip, Reuters reported.
On his trip to Japan, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis reaffirmed Washington's commitment to defend Japan, including some disputed islands claimed by China. But experts believe there is nothing new about the U.S. stand.
"Trump might use Japan to restrain China, but will never fight against China for Japan's sake. The U.S. will not treat China as an enemy, since it is not in line with the U.S. interests. If Abe does, he's doomed to be alone," said Gao.
