At a summit in Washington, America and Japan pledged to face Chinese expansion, and Beijing condemned it

On Friday, a US-Japan summit concluded in Washington, DC, which focused on bilateral ties and the situation in East Asia, the main one of which faced expanding Chinese influence, while Beijing condemned what it saw as interference in its countries’ affairs.

US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga – the first foreign leader received by the new US president in Washington – have pledged to jointly meet the “challenges” posed by China.

“We are determined to work together to address the challenges posed by China, issues such as the East China Sea and the South China Sea, as well as the North Korea issue,” Biden said in a statement. joint press conference at the White House.

“We are working together to prove that democracies can prevail over the challenges of the 21st century by getting results for their people,” Biden added.

For his part, the Japanese Prime Minister spoke of an alliance based on “freedom, democracy and human rights”, stressing that the two allied countries would oppose “any attempt” by Beijing “to change the status quo. quo by force or intimidation in the South. and East China Seas. “

The US president has said he will work with Tokyo “to promote reliable and secure 5G networks,” and his circles have referred to a “very big commitment” – worth two billion dollars – that Japan has made in partnership with the United States.

Corona and the Olympics

The Japanese prime minister told the US president that Tokyo will do everything in its power to contain the emerging corona virus, “Covid-19”, and hold a “safe” Olympics this year.

During his meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris before Biden received him, the Japanese Prime Minister stressed that “the Japanese-American alliance must be very strong at the moment”.

White House spokeswoman Jin Saki said the summit – scheduled for next May with South Korean President Moon Ji-in – should send a “strong message” about the “critical importance” of US relations in Asia. Publicity

Biden’s decision – to invite the Japanese prime minister to be his first guest – reflects his renewed priority on US alliances, while focusing on China as the biggest challenge for the United States.

 Chinese denunciations

Commenting on the summit’s results, the Chinese Embassy in the United States said on Saturday that Beijing strongly opposes the joint statement issued by the summit.

The embassy added in a statement that Taiwan, Hong Kong and Xinjiang are China’s internal affairs and should not be interfered with.

She said the talks went beyond the framework of normal bilateral relations, harmed third-party interests and threatened peace and stability in the region.