THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
December 4, 2025 at 16:43 JST
French President Emmanuel Macron, fourth from left, with other leaders during a Group of Seven summit in Kananaskis, Canada, in June (Pool)
Japan conveyed its concerns to France about inviting Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend next year’s Group of Seven summit ahead of French President Emmanuel Macron’s latest visit to China, sources said.
Tokyo believes that Xi’s presence could make it difficult for G-7 leaders to discuss China’s growing maritime expansion and economic coercion, government sources said.
In November, Bloomberg reported that Macron was considering inviting Xi to the G-7 summit that France will host in the eastern town of Evian in June.
According to the report, Macron informally consulted with some allies, and Germany indicated support for the invitation.
Macron’s three-day visit to China starting Dec. 3 has heightened vigilance in Tokyo. The French president held talks with Xi on Dec. 4.
Ahead of Macron’s trip, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke by phone with Emmanuel Bonne, the presidential diplomatic adviser, on Nov. 27.
According to China’s foreign ministry, Wang criticized Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent remarks on a Taiwan contingency, saying that “the incumbent Japanese leader” infringed on China’s sovereignty with provocative comments about Taiwan.
Japan also hastened its communications with France.
Keiichi Ichikawa, director-general of the National Security Secretariat, held a 30-minute phone call with Bonne on Dec. 2.
According to the Japanese side, the two discussed regional developments in the Indo-Pacific and Europe and reaffirmed cooperation toward realizing a “free and open Indo-Pacific.”
Macron has long entertained the idea of inviting China to the G-7, Japanese government officials said.
However, one official said France is not seeking to bring China into the G-7.
“It is understood that the value of the G-7 lies in its shared commitment to freedom and democracy,” the official said.
(This article was written by Azusa Kato and Ryohei Miyawaki.)
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