[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] The United States and Japan will hold a 2+2 meeting attended by foreign and economic ministers to explore ways to leverage human rights issues to check China in the economic sector.
According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, the two governments will hold the 'US-Japan Economic Policy Consultative Committee,' a 2+2 meeting on economic matters, in Washington DC at the end of this month, agreeing to establish standards regarding responses to human rights issues and infrastructure investment.
At this meeting, both sides will discuss how to respond to China's actions that disrupt the international order and work on creating unified standards in the economic sector. The meeting will be held on the 29th local time, attended by US Secretary of State Tony Blinken, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa, and Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hagiuda Koichi.
Earlier, US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio confirmed the need to eliminate forced labor from supply chains during their summit held in Tokyo in May. In the same month, the two countries agreed in a ministerial-level dialogue to strengthen export controls on technologies that could lead to human rights violations, such as facial recognition.
The Yomiuri Shimbun predicted that the US and Japan will agree at the meeting to promote the establishment of an economic order in the Indo-Pacific region with China and Russia in mind. Discussions are also expected on cooperation regarding strengthening semiconductor supply chains, establishing rules to ensure the stability of 5th generation mobile communications (5G) and infrastructure, and the procurement of batteries and critical minerals.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
