The following is from the serial column of Yoshiko Sakurai, who brings the weekly Shincho released today to a successful conclusion.
This paper also proves that she is a national treasure, a supreme national treasure defined by Saicho.
It is a must-read not only for the Japanese people but for people all over the world.
Emphasis in the text is mine.
A Change in Biden's Policy Toward China
The U.S. policy toward China is changing.
President Biden, who has said that he would negotiate with China from a "position of strength," has not always maintained that strength.
It is a severe problem for Japan.
The new Kishida administration must take note of this change in U.S.-China relations and hasten to take steps to strengthen Japan's position on all fronts.
Looking back, Secretary of State Blinken admitted that China's treatment of Uyghurs was "genocide" in his Senate confirmation hearing.
His tough stance on China led to a heated exchange with State Councilor Yang Jiejing at the US-China meeting in Alaska on March 18.
Mr. Blinken's tough stance on China should be consistent with Mr. Biden's stance on China.
In fact, Biden's toughness was evident in the U.S.-China summit call held on February 10, a month before the Alaska meeting.
The first phone call between the U.S. and Chinese leaders lasted for two hours.
From the information released by both sides, it can be seen that Xi Jinping was eager to "improve bilateral relations" and spent much of his time stressing the need for U.S.-China cooperation.
Xi's particular emphasis was on rebuilding the framework for the US-China dialogue.
It is making allowances for the Biden administration to come out strongly on issues such as human rights.
China will stall for a time when the situation is unfavorable.
It would be the resumption of high-level dialogue.
By increasing the opportunities for communication, China may have hoped to create a situation in which it can better manage risks.
On the other hand, Mr. Biden took a stance that distanced himself from the "dialogue" and "cooperation" sought by Mr. Xi and made it clear that his administration's priority is to maintain the "free and open Indo-Pacific" strategy, which China strongly opposes as a framework for containing China.
He also conveyed the "fundamental concern" of the U.S. regarding China's oppression of Hong Kong and Taiwan.
While the Chinese side emphasized the words "consensus" and "dialogue" as statements by both leaders regarding the U.S.-China relationship, the U.S. side was more reserved in its expression of "engagement," and China was leaner forward in maintaining the U.S.-China relationship.
Against this backdrop, on April 14, Mr. Biden made an important speech.
He clearly stated his policy of withdrawing from Afghanistan by September, shifting military power from the Middle East to Asia, and dealing with the threat of China.
To this end, he called for greater cooperation from allied nations, including Japan.
Two days later, on August 16, Biden invited then Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to his first face-to-face summit since taking office.
In response to the U.S. request, Mr. Suga said he would strengthen the Self-Defense Forces, take the Japan-U.S. alliance to a higher level, and enhance deterrence through cooperation between the two countries.
He also said that he would never make concessions on matters related to sovereignty, such as land and culture.
It made all of these statements with China in mind, so the Japanese government was regarded as having crossed the Rubicon River.
However, it could not have more poorly executed Mr. Biden's strategy for withdrawing from Afghanistan.
On July 2, the U.S. forces literally withdrew under cover of night, abandoning Bagram Air Base, where they could monitor all of Afghanistan.
The Taliban gained momentum and quickly moved to conquer the entire country.
Negative Effects
Just around this time, Mr. Sherman, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, visited Tianjin, China, and met with Mr. Wang Yi, the State Councilor and Foreign Minister.
Wang Yi responded in what could be described as a high-handed manner, and the Chinese handed over a long list of demands to the U.S., including the release of Huawei Vice-Chairman Meng Wanzhou.
The U.S. military's defeat in Afghanistan has clearly undermined U.S. prestige, and its adverse effects have become China's contempt for the United States, casting a shadow over diplomatic negotiations.
On September 1, John Kerry, the presidential envoy for climate change issues, visited Tianjin.
His counterpart was the veteran Mr. He Zhenhua.
Mr. Kerry is a man who seems to think that the earth will be destroyed if C0₂ is not reduced.
There are many concerns about Sino-US relations, but regardless of them, "he begged China that the world's two largest C0₂ emitting countries must cooperate purely" (September 2, Wall Street Journal).
It is the true intention of China that he hardly cares about C0₂.
For them, someone like Mr. Kerry, who believes that environmental issues are all that matters, is a sitting duck.
It is because they can negotiate the conditions of whether or not to cooperate in lowering C0₂.
As expected, the Chinese coldly said that they could not give the special treatment only to the climate change issue and consider it in the context of the overall China-US relationship.
At this point, the Chinese side reportedly asked the U.S. to respond to the "two lists" it had already submitted.
The two lists are: (1) a list of wrong words and deeds that the U.S. must stop saying and doing, and (2) a list of critical individual cases in which China has a serious interest.
The former list includes visa restrictions for Chinese Communist Party members and their families, sanctions against Chinese leaders, government officials, government departments, visa restrictions for Chinese students, and pressure on Chinese companies and Confucius Institutes. It also includes the demand mentioned above for the extradition of Meng Wanzhou.
The latter includes lifting the refusal of Chinese students to apply for visas to visit the U.S.
"Victory over the United States in the trade war"
On September 9, amid wavering confidence in the U.S. in the international community, Biden held a second phone conversation with Xi Jinping.
The Chinese side reported that the meeting took place "at the request of the U.S. side," as if to say, "We agreed to the forum."
According to the WSJ, during the 90-minute meeting, Mr. Xi was mainly critical of the U.S., but he also expressed optimism that the two powers could work together.
The paper reported that Biden did not come to the meeting with a specific goal in mind but that the U.S. business community is pressuring him to negotiate the removal of punitive tariffs on Chinese imports.
Biden's position in domestic politics has suffered, and he has been criticized for swallowing two lists of demands from China.
In fact, Meng Wanzhou was released on September 24.
Although he claimed that Huawei was a private company with no connection to the Chinese government, Meng landed at the airport in Shenzhen in a bright red dress, the symbolic color of the Chinese Communist Party.
Television stations broadcasted her return live, and the People's Daily ran a frenzied editorial saying, "China has won the trade war against the United States."
Ten months into the Biden administration, the U.S.-China relationship is changing.
On October 4, U.S. Trade Representative Catherine Yue touched on a "new strategy for U.S.-China trade relations," and on October 5, in a speech at a think tank.
In a speech at a think tank the following day, she said, "Decoupling between the U.S. and China is unrealistic. We need a more constructive recoupling."
On October 8, Ms. Thai spoke remotely with Vice Premier Liu He, and both agreed that trade between the U.S. and China should be strengthened.
It was also announced that a U.S.-China summit would be held remotely before the end of the year.
If we follow the timeline of developments in the U.S. and China, it is clear that the Biden administration is slowly retreating.
The U.S. is losing its resolve not to tolerate Chinese lawlessness and genocide.
Japan, Prime Minister Kishida, you must get a grip, or you will not protect your country.
