China Imposes Economic Retaliation on Quad Member Japan

Chinese Media Urges Preparing Economic Retaliation Cards Like Australia and Clearly Defining Boundaries for Quad Member States

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] Regarding the Quad foreign ministers' meeting of the four-country consultative body consisting of the United States, Japan, India, and Australia, Chinese media have argued that China must clearly draw a red line. This implies that since the Biden administration is likely to use the Quad as a card to pressure China in the Indo-Pacific region, China must also prepare various countermeasures, including economic measures.

China's state-run Global Times cited experts, reporting on the 19th that the first Quad meeting since the inauguration of the Biden administration was held, and that the purpose of the Quad meeting is to pressure China in the Indo-Pacific region.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The media defined the Quad as the Indo-Pacific version of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It also emphasized that after holding its first meeting in October last year, the four countries conducted joint military exercises targeting China in November.

Ni Feng, Deputy Director of the Institute of American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, expressed concern, saying, "The Biden administration is continuing the Indo-Pacific strategy of the Trump era," and "The Quad will be the central axis of the Indo-Pacific strategy and will play a major role in the U.S. strategy to contain China."

Luan Zhongzhe, Deputy Director of the China Institute of International Studies, said, "President Biden is someone who knows how to use various methods with allies to suppress China's peaceful development," and "The U.S. will use the Quad as a tool to promote its own interests." He added that the Quad is a completely anti-China club and pointed out that China needs to consider how to respond to it.

Chinese media forecast that the Group of Seven (G7) meeting scheduled for the 19th (local time) will discuss pressure on China and Russia.

The Global Times argued that China should make maximum use of the economic card to respond to U.S. provocations. It emphasized that Japan and India are China’s largest trading partners. Japan has been China’s second-largest trading partner for four consecutive years, and India is China’s largest importer.

It also highlighted that China is the European Union’s (EU) number one trading partner. With the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) signed last year pending ratification, trade between China and the EU is expected to increase further, strengthening bilateral relations.

The Global Times added that Australia, a Quad member country, is suffering economic retaliation from China as a result of leading anti-China moves.