US-Japan Establish New Economic 2+2 Meeting... Alliance Expands Through Economic Security

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida have agreed to establish a new 2+2 meeting for foreign and economic ministers, Yomiuri Shimbun reported on the 21st, citing multiple Japanese government sources.

The two countries are discussing this agreement during a scheduled virtual summit later that night. Currently, the U.S. and Japan only operate a 2+2 meeting involving foreign and defense ministers.

In the newly established 2+2 meeting, the U.S. side is expected to be represented by the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Commerce, while Japan will be represented by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry. This is expected to expand the alliance's scope beyond traditional diplomacy to include economic security.

Both sides plan to hold the first meeting within the year once preparations are complete. The foreign and economic ministers' 2+2 meeting is expected to discuss investments in third countries and strengthening global supply chains amid intensifying U.S.-China hegemonic competition.

The newspaper added that the U.S. and Japan particularly aim to promote infrastructure investments in the Indo-Pacific region to counter China's massive economic initiative, the "Belt and Road Initiative."

Emerging economic security issues such as advanced technology export controls are also likely to be topics of discussion in the new 2+2 meeting. This initiative aims to prevent U.S. or Japanese technologies from being used in China's weapons development.

Meanwhile, reports have emerged that Prime Minister Kishida will urge President Biden to rejoin the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) during this summit.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.