New US Ambassador to Japan George Glass Friday triggered a sharp reaction from China, which urged Glass to promote friendly bilateral relations instead of “inciting” confrontation.
Beijing’s remark came after Glass stressed the need to “push back against a country like China,” Kyodo News reported.
Glass, a real estate developer from the US state of Oregon, Friday assumed his role as the US ambassador to Japan, succeeding Rahm Emanuel, a Democrat from former US President Joe Biden’s administration.
“We sit with Japan in a very tough neighborhood. You have Russia, you have China, and you have North Korea,” Glass told reporters after landing at Haneda airport in Tokyo.
Glass earlier served as the US envoy to Portugal in 2017-2021, during President Donald Trump’s first term.
However, Beijing advised the new ambassador to “promote friendly relations between countries, not to smear others, sow discord, or incite confrontation.”
“China has always been a force for peace, stability, and progress in the international community. As for who is flaunting military might, stirring up confrontation, and threatening peace, the international community sees it all very clearly,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters in Beijing.
Japan is one of the oldest military allies of the US in the Asia-Pacific region, hosting more than 50,000 American troops and bases.
However, Trump’s wide-ranging tariffs, including 24% on Japanese imports, have put Tokyo in a tight spot.
While the Trump administration has given a 90-day reprieve to all nations, except China, Tokyo’s trade negotiator met with the US president in Washington earlies this week.
Japan’s Economic Revitalization Minister Akazawa Ryosei held talks with the US side but achieved no breakthrough.
After meeting with Ryosei in Tokyo, Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba Friday said he wants to “see specific progress” in tariff negotiations with Washington.
Ryosei told reporters after his return that he conveyed Japan’s “position” to the US.
Ishiba said that while other countries were discussing retaliatory tariffs on the US, as well as filing lawsuits with the World Trade Organization, Japan was “different,” according to NHK News.
Recalling that Japan was the top investor in the US over the past five years, Ishiba said additional tariffs would weaken such investments in the future.