As Japan’s Suga meets Biden, China is the elephant in the room

US president’s first in-person summit with a foreign leader is expected to focus on the Uighur issue and advanced technology.

By arranging to meet Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga in Washington, DC, in his first in-person summit, United States President Joe Biden appears to be sending a message: Asia, and in particular Japan, is at the heart of US foreign policy. While issues such as the coronavirus pandemic, climate change and North Korea are expected to be high on their list of talking points, another nation, though not physically present at Friday’s meeting, is likely to be top of mind: China. Beijing has already made its displeasure about the summit known. The US and Japan share many of the same grievances concerning China. They include Beijing’s abuse of the Uighur community in the far-western region of Xinjiang, its activities in the East China Sea and the use of advanced technology to gain an economic edge over its competitors.