Little over a year ago, Japanese premier Shinzo Abe’s biggest worry, as he assiduously courted Donald Trump, was that the US president would do deals with China at the expense of America’s strategic commitment to Japan. As Mr Trump has instead escalated a trade war with Beijing, Tokyo’s concern now is being caught in the middle of a broader Sino-US confrontation. That is the backdrop to Mr Abe’s arrival in China on Thursday for a three-day visit and meetings with president Xi Jinping — the first bilateral visit by a Japanese leader since 2011. It marks an important step in a gradual rapprochement between the world’s second- and third- largest economies.
一年多以前，日本首相安倍晉三(Shinzo Abe)極力討好美國總統唐納德?特朗普(Donald Trump)，當時他最擔心的是，特朗普可能會以犧牲美國對日本的戰略承諾為代價，與中國做交易。如今，隨著特朗普對北京發起的貿易戰愈演愈烈，日本擔心被卷入一場廣泛的中美對峙之中。在此背景下，安倍于周四抵達中國進行為期三天的訪問，他將與中國國家主席習近平會晤。這是自2011年以來日本領導人首次對中國進行雙邊訪問，是全球第二大和第三大經濟體之間逐漸恢復友好關系的重要一步。