Bloomberg quoted informed sources as saying that despite the increasing pressure brought about by China’s restrictions on the export of critical minerals to Japan, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takashi is still unwilling to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to be held in November this year, citing dissatisfaction over personal attacks launched against her by China.
In November last year, Sanae Takashi made comments regarding a "Taiwan contingency," which angered Beijing. Because Takashi refused to retract these statements and China subsequently imposed restrictions in various fields ranging from tourism to seafood, diplomatic contact between China and Japan has all but come to a halt this year.
Both leaders are expected to attend the APEC summit in Shenzhen, but it is still unclear whether Beijing intends to arrange such a meeting. The APEC summit will be held in Shenzhen from November 18 to 19.
Last week, the Group of Seven, including Japan, reached a consensus to significantly reduce its reliance on single non-G7 supply sources, aiming to cut dependence on rare earths and permanent magnets from non-G7 sources to below 60% by 2030. Although the communiqué did not mention any country by name, it was clearly directed at China.