Japan wary China could use Trump-Xi summit to bolster narrative against Tokyo

Thursday’s U.S.-China leaders summit has left Tokyo concerned that Beijing could seek to use the meeting to bolster its narrative against Japan as ties remain chilly over Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments on Taiwan last year. During the meeting in Washington, U.S. President Donald Trump hailed the two superpowers’ “common interests” that he said had “even made us allies in World War II” — remarks likely to have raised eyebrows in Tokyo, a U.S. ally currently embroiled in a festering dispute with Beijing and facing pressure from Trump on both trade and defense issues.

Speaking after Trump, Xi noted that Chinese and Americans had “fought shoulder to shoulder against fascist aggression.”