China’s diplomatic full-court press against Japan over its support for Taiwan has targeted President Trump, the United Nations and, now, two of Tokyo’s closest European partners.
In separate talks with senior British and French officials last week, Beijing’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, alluded to their nations’ victories over Imperial Japan during World War II, urging them to side with China again in its deepening rift with Tokyo.
His remarks were China’s latest bid to rally support in a dispute that has raged for weeks, since Japan’s new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, suggested that her country could intervene militarily if China were to attack Taiwan.
Ms. Takaichi told Japan’s Parliament on Nov. 7 that any attempt by China to blockade or seize Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, implying a potential military response. Her comments reflected a long-held Japanese policy, but one that has rarely been verbalized.
Beijing, which asserts that self-governed Taiwan is part of Chinese territory, has responded furiously. It accused Ms. Takaichi of crossing a “red line” and demanded a retraction. It has urged millions of Chinese tourists to avoid Japan, canceled hundreds of flights and banned imports of Japanese seafood. Even Japanese entertainers have seen their performances in China abruptly canceled — one of them, in Shanghai last week, in the middle of a song.
China sent a letter last month to António Guterres, the United Nations secretary general, that accused Ms. Takaichi of violating international law, adding that the letter would be circulated to member states. Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, called President Trump and implied that their two countries, having fought “shoulder to shoulder against fascism and militarism” in World War II, should push back against Japan together.
Well before Ms. Takaichi made her remark, Mr. Xi had been ramping up pressure on Taiwan and its president, Lai Ching-te, whom Beijing describes as a dangerous separatist.
“China wants to isolate Japan and make sure that other key members of the international community will not move further from its cherished ‘one-China principle,’” said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a China expert at the Asia Center in Paris, referring to Beijing’s official position that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory.
Some analysts say Mr. Xi may feel emboldened because Mr. Trump has done less than his predecessors, militarily or economically, to reassure Taiwan or neighboring U.S. allies in the face of China’s rise. Mr. Trump “has sent conflicting messages to Taiwan which have not helped and worried America’s allies in the region,” Mr. Cabestan added.
During Mr. Wang’s meeting with Jonathan Powell, Britain’s foreign security adviser, in Beijing on Thursday and his call on Friday with Emmanuel Bonne, the French presidential foreign policy adviser, he called on both European countries to continue to abide by the one-China principle.
In doing so, Mr. Wang sidestepped the more nuanced position that Britain and France maintain on China and Taiwan. Both nations recognize Beijing diplomatically, not Taipei, but they also support the status quo and oppose any effort by China to use force in the Taiwan Strait or threaten to do so.
As Mr. Xi did with Mr. Trump, Mr. Wang tried to appeal to their nations’ shared history fighting Japan, calling on them to “safeguard the outcomes” of World War II.
“Provocative remarks on Taiwan by the incumbent Japanese leader are blatantly turning back the wheel of history and infringe on China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Mr. Wang told Mr. Bonne during the call, which came as both sides were preparing for a three-day visit to China this week by President Emmanuel Macron of France.
Beijing has been frustrated by what it sees as continued European support of Taiwan, said Noah Barkin, an expert on European-Chinese relations at Rhodium Group, a research firm.
In October, Germany’s foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, canceled a trip to Beijing because of tensions raised after he criticized China’s “aggressive behavior” in the Taiwan Strait. Last month, Taiwan’s vice president, Hsiao Bi-khim, spoke to the European Parliament in Brussels, and its former president Tsai Ing-wen gave a speech at a conference in Berlin.
“There is growing concern in Beijing about an increase in European engagement with Taiwan and a determination to nip it in the bud,” Mr. Barkin said.
“Raising the Japan dispute with European capitals is part of this campaign,” he said. “The message is, ‘Don’t cross our red lines like Japan has, or we will respond.’”
That campaign is unlikely to be persuasive, analysts say. European countries are still smarting from China’s decision to impose new export controls on rare earth minerals, and they remain frustrated with Beijing’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Shen Dingli, a Shanghai-based foreign policy expert, said China risked overreaching in its brazen efforts to rein in Japan. He said it would be against American and European interests for Taiwan to fall under Chinese control, and therefore, urging the West to take China’s side would be “foolish.”
“Taiwan is an internal Chinese matter,” Mr. Shen said. “How can an internal issue be internationalized?”
Berry Wang contributed reporting from Hong Kong.
David Pierson covers Chinese foreign policy and China’s economic and cultural engagement with the world. He has been a journalist for more than two decades.
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