China may try to cozy up to Japan in the short run to curb a possible economic downturn, as President Xi Jinping has been keen to secure a controversial third term as leader at the ruling Communist Party’s twice-a-decade congress in fall.
But Tokyo is unlikely to take a softer approach toward Beijing, with the two Asian powers recently at odds over China’s security challenges to Taiwan, its temporary detention of a Japanese diplomat and its unwillingness to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
At this year’s annual session of parliament that ended Friday, China’s top leadership mapped out steps to stabilize economic development to prevent social disorder from eroding public support for the ruling party headed by Xi.
On the diplomatic front, China has refrained from making policy decisions provoking its neighbors such as Japan, while avoiding expressing clear support for Russia’s attack on Ukraine, launched just four days after the closing of the Beijing Winter Olympics.
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