WASHINGTON: As Japan and the United States signed a critical minerals and rare earths agreement in Tokyo on Tuesday, experts in Washington believed that despite the agreement, Tokyo feared that the US President may “soften his stance on China” when he meets his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, later this week in South Korea.
While addressing the media in Washington on Tuesday, Sayuri Romei, a Senior Fellow at the German Marshall Fund (GMF), argued that “Tokyo's main fear is that Trump may just soften his stance on China and will strike a deal with Beijing that could impact the regional balance.”
Trump met Japan's new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo on Monday and signed multiple agreements, including a deal on critical minerals and rare earths.