Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, center, departs for the United States from Tokyo's Haneda Airport on April 15. (Hiroyuki Yamamoto)

Japan and the United States will present a united stance on Chinese activity around Taiwan when Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga meets with U.S. President Joe Biden in their first summit on April 16.

A high-ranking U.S. administration official said April 15 that the joint statement to be issued after the meeting in Washington, D.C., would likely include some reference to the Taiwan Strait, given the recent naval activity by China in those waters.

The official said including the issue in the joint statement would send a “clear signal” to Beijing from the two allies.

China will be at the center of the talks, with key topics expected to include national security issues and bilateral cooperation on vital supply chains to reduce dependence on China.

Another major issue expected to come up is reducing dependence on Huawei products in developing 5G mobile communication technology.

The two leaders are expected to announce that Japan will cooperate with the United States on a plan worth some $2 billion (217.59 billion yen) to develop 5G and future communications technology.

“I want to further strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance by developing a relationship of trust with President Biden,” Suga told reporters before departing from Tokyo on the evening of April 15. “I also want to demonstrate to the world the leadership role that the two nations are prepared to take in realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”

Suga will be the first foreign leader Biden will meet face to face. Because the Biden administration has clearly signaled it will take a more multilateral approach toward U.S. allies, the meeting with Suga will also likely serve as a barometer for how relationships with its other allies will develop.

The two nations have already raised concerns about recent Chinese military moves around Taiwan. When Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi met with their U.S. counterparts in Tokyo in March, the two sides issued a joint statement that stressed the “importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”

The Biden administration also announced a policy aimed at decoupling U.S. supply chains from reliance on China for semiconductors, given the fundamental role microchips play in economic and military competitiveness. Biden will likely ask Suga for Japan to join the effort, but it remains to be seen how Tokyo will respond given that Japan relies heavily on the Chinese economy.

Suga and Biden will also discuss climate change and the new emissions-reduction targets that the two governments are mulling.

U.S. media have reported the Biden administration is seeking a 50-percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 2005 levels.

Suga has pledged to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. The government is now considering a new emissions target of achieving a reduction between 40 and 45 percent from 2013 levels for fiscal 2030.

(This article was written by Koji Sonoda in Washington and Ryo Aibara in Tokyo.)

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