Ishiba faces tough test trying to reconcile contradictory agenda

Beijing is firmly opposed to Washington cobbling together exclusionary and confrontational groupings and abusing the concept of national security to undermine China's normal trade and economic cooperation, not only with the United States but also with other countries.

As a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman stressed once again last week, such behavior is not conducive to maintaining the stability of the global industry and supply chains, and does no country any good. She called on the US "to right its wrong and provide a fair, just and nondiscriminatory environment for Chinese companies".

Therefore, it's not surprising that just two weeks after taking office Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's political agenda is inherently contradictory. He wants to rebalance the alliance with the US to increase Japan's strategic autonomy and foster "constructive, stable" relations with neighboring China through dialogue and cooperation. Yet at the same time, he wants to pursue an "Asian version of NATO".