Although recent actions, including US export controls on Huawei and other Chinese technology companies, have impacted Japan’s economy and the political calculus for future relations, Yoshihide Suga’s government will likely continue to balance its respective relationships with the US and China. Neither nation is seen as the sole long-term solution to Japan’s vision of political primacy, but rather as a realistic means to reestablish a powerful and independent Japan. Yoshihide Suga will draw upon all internal and external resources to resolve domestic issues and reshape foreign policy within the region.

Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel headlined a virtual summit meeting with President Xi Jinping last month to expedite the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) between the European Union and China. The September 2020 summit was meant to conclude seven years of protracted talks surrounding the expansion of Chinese market access for EU investors, the removal and reduction of forced technology transfers (FTT), and future trade relations between the two partners. While patience may be virtuous, particularly when commercial diplomacy talks can cement trade rules for decades at a time, this current round of talks revealed a conspicuous reality for the world’s largest trading bloc – its uncomfortable position between the US and China.

Maintaining a strong military presence coupled with improved statecraft can allow Washington to influence other nations and their conflicts, which ultimately may increase American stature in a region where head-to-head military engagements between the US and China would lead to “mutually assured destruction.” If Washington takes more decisive action to marry political operations with military strategy and re-asserts the importance of diplomatic relations alongside a grand strategy, Beijing will face a transformed adversary that can challenge the PRC’s supremacy in Southeast Asia.

Huawei’s global rise as a leader in 5G technology creates an opportunity for Washington to bring China back to the foreign policy table. Instead of instituting economic sanctions that indirectly hamper US innovation while driving Chinese progress, Washington should engage China in the evolving arms-race of 5G technology. With an active role contributing to global 5G standards, US companies can use their expertise in semiconductor production technology to guide global discourse while US regulators focus on intellectual property theft and other trade infringements.