(Bloomberg) -- China urged Japan to steer clear of “internal issues” including Hong Kong and Xinjiang as Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga prepares to meet U.S. President Joe Biden later this month.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi that he hoped Japan could treat China's development from an “objective and rational” perspective, rather than be led by the rhythm of countries that are biased against China, according to a statement on Tuesday from the government in Beijing. While Japan is a U.S. ally, it also has a Treaty of Peace and Friendship with China, the statement continued.
Motegi reiterated in the call Japan's serious concern over a range of issues, including the situation in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, as well as China's passage of a law allowing its Coast Guard to fire on foreign ships, Japan's Foreign Ministry said in a separate statement.
Japan's Suga to Be the First Foreign Leader to Meet With Biden
Suga will become the first foreign leader to meet Biden in person since he became president, underscoring the U.S.'s focus on shoring up ties with allies in the region as it tries to pressure China over issues from human rights to trade to a probe into the origins of the coronavirus.
Suga has come under pressure from some in his own ruling party who want Japan to follow other major democracies in imposing sanctions on Chinese officials over allegations of forced labor in Xinjiang, particularly ahead of the White House summit on April 16 and the Group of Seven summit in the U.K. in June.
A cross-party lawmakers' group on human rights, including members from Suga's Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito, held its inaugural meeting Tuesday, where members called for a law enabling sanctions for human rights violations.
“Serious violations of human rights that cannot be ignored are occurring around the world,” Akihisa Nagashima, an LDP lawmaker, told the meeting. “The world is focusing more and more on how Japan, whose constitution emphasizes human rights, will respond.”
Japan Faces Pressure to Join China Sanctions Ahead of U.S. Trip
Japan has found it increasingly awkward to balance its relations with the U.S., its only military ally, and China, its biggest trading partner. Japan has stepped up its rhetoric as the Biden administration signals a renewed focus on human rights in foreign policy, but it lacks a legal framework to impose sanctions.
When asked about other countries' sanctions at a Tuesday news briefing in Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said “the goal is to improve the human rights situation. Each country will decide from its own point of view whether that is effective.” He added Japan should constantly evaluate the need for its own sanctions law.
The U.S., Canada, the EU and the U.K. have all imposed penalties on China over human rights abuses against the Uyghur ethnic group in the far west region of Xinjiang, spurring lawmaker groups to call for Japan to follow suit.
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