China launched a new round of diplomatic contacts with Japan and the European Union this week as Washington prepares for the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.
A delegation of Japanese lawmakers traveled to Beijing and a Chinese military delegation went to Japan for the first time in five years. The new President of the European Council held his first phone call with China's leader, Xi Jinping.
Analysts say China is trying to test the alliance between Washington and its allies with diplomatic efforts.
"Senior Chinese officials believe that the incoming Trump administration will be tougher on China, so Beijing is trying to pull US allies out of Washington's orbit," Chen Yuhua, a professor of China studies at Akita International University, told VOA.
However, other experts say the effectiveness of Beijing's strategy remains unclear.
While China is "improving relations with everyone, they are not willing to fundamentally change their behavior abroad. We don't know how long [this trend] will last," says Stephen Nagy, professor of politics and international studies at the International Christian University of Tokyo.
Seafood and soldiers
Lawmakers from Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition partner Komeito began a three-day visit to China on Monday. During the visit, the Japanese lawmakers met with senior Chinese leaders, including Premier Li Keqiang and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
The Japanese side urged China to lift import bans on Japanese seafood "at an early date" and guarantee the safety of Japanese nationals living in China.
Hiroshi Moriyama, the LDP's secretary-general, said during a speech on Tuesday that China and Japan "must enhance mutual understanding between their peoples and strengthen dialogue at various levels to improve their ties."
Mr. Moriyama also reiterated Tokyo's concern over rising tensions in the East China Sea and Beijing's detention of several Japanese citizens on espionage charges.
During his meeting with the Japanese delegation on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang said that Japan and China "have great opportunities" to improve and develop bilateral relations.
On Wednesday, Premier Li said Beijing and Tokyo should focus on achieving economic cooperation in areas such as the digital economy, increasing people-to-people exchanges even at lower levels of government.
At the same time as the Japanese lawmakers were visiting Beijing, a Chinese military delegation began a five-day visit to Japan. During the trip, the Chinese delegation will meet with Japanese counterparts and visit several military units, according to a statement from China's Ministry of Defense.
Japanese government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said during a press conference on Tuesday that the Chinese delegation's visit helped resume "meetings between troops" and that this "contributes to regional peace and stability."
China's Defense Ministry said the visit "is expected to strengthen mutual understanding and trust by advancing defense exchanges between the two countries."
The exchanges of these visits between Japan and China follow Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya's trip to Beijing on December 25, during which Tokyo and Beijing agreed to Minister Wang's visit to Japan and to hold high-level economic and security dialogues.
Despite Japan and China's efforts to improve bilateral relations, Professor Nagy says the efforts cannot continue for long. "China believes that Japan's similar stance with other countries on issues such as disputes in the South China Sea, economic security and stability policy are against its core interests," he told VOA by phone.
"While they may have exchanges with Japan, that does not remove their concerns about these issues," said Professor Nagy.
Attempts to create division
In addition to improving ties with Japan, China has also tried to improve relations with the European Union amid rising trade tensions in recent months.
During his first phone call with European Council President Antonio Costa on Tuesday, Chinese President Xi said there are “no fundamental interest clashes or geopolitical conflicts” between China and the EU. “This makes us partners who can contribute to each other’s success.”
"China has confidence in the EU and hopes that the bloc will confirm that it is a reliable cooperation partner for China," he said, adding that both sides should "expand mutual openness, strengthen existing cooperation mechanisms and foster new growth areas in their cooperation."
Mr Costa said he had a "constructive" call with President Xi, during which he stressed how Russia's war against Ukraine threatens global peace. The European foreign policy chief added that he agreed with President Xi that China and the EU should work together to "address global challenges".
"The EU and China are important trading partners. Our relations must be balanced and based on a level playing field," Mr Costa wrote on the social media platform X.
The talks between President Xi and Mr Costa come amid rising trade tensions between China and the EU. Last October, Brussels imposed tariffs of up to 45.3% on electric vehicles imported from China. The decision prompted Beijing to impose “temporary measures” on alcoholic beverages imported from the EU.
The EU threatened on June 12, 2024, that it could raise tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, escalating trade disputes over Beijing's export subsidies.
Experts say China's rapprochement with the EU is part of Beijing's effort to weaken the alliance between Washington and Brussels ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump's return to office.
"China always fears that the United States and the European Union will cooperate in the face of China, so the change of power in Washington presents an opportunity [for Beijing] to exploit the anxiety that European countries have about the second Trump administration," Matej Simalcik, executive director of the Central European Institute for Asian Studies, told VOA during an interview in Taipei.
According to him, although China's effort is unlikely to soften the EU's tough trade approach against Beijing, it could pose challenges to the bloc's foreign policy agenda as Beijing uses its influence over several EU member states.
"There are many areas where EU member states need to agree unanimously, and China can use its friendly relations with some member states to veto some parts of the EU's foreign policy agenda," Mr Simalcik said.
While the effectiveness of Beijing's diplomatic efforts with US allies remains unclear, Chen Yuhua, a professor of China studies at Akita International University in Japan, said these efforts show that China's foreign policy approach has become "more sophisticated."
"Compared to their 'aggressive diplomacy' during Mr. Trump's first administration, China's current diplomatic approach has become more sophisticated," he told VOA . (A2 Televizion)
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