China-Japan drawing closer amid trade pressure from U.S.

Shared trade friction with the U.S. appears to be drawing longtime Asian rivals China and Japan closer, with Chinese President Xi Jinping telling Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday that the two countries are “sharing more common interests and concerns.” China-Japan relations have undergone turbulence but are now “back to a normal track,” Xi told Abe during the first formal visit to Beijing by a Japanese leader in nearly seven years. “Under the new situation, our interdependence with each other has deepened. Also, we are sharing more common interests and concerns in multilateral and wider areas,” Xi said.

Abe’s visit highlights the improvement in ties after they hit a low in 2012 during a dispute over East China Sea islands controlled by key U.S. ally Japan but claimed by China.

While that feud remains unresolved, trade and investment have recovered and companies from the two sides are exploring joint investments in third countries such as Thailand. China has come under increasing pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump’s move to impose punitive tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese products and attempt to limit Chinese access to American technology. Beijing has responded with tariffs of its own on U.S. goods such as soybeans, and no swift resolution to the standoff appears likely.

Trump has also raised tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum from Japan and other countries, and is threatening tariffs on Japanese autos and auto parts. That seems to be prompting both countries to look for alternative markets and cooperate on foreign investments where their interests converge, despite their longstanding disagreements.

“In the past several years, the China-Japan relationship has experienced ups and downs. With the efforts made by both parties, our relationship has been straightened out and come back to a normal track,” Xi said.