COMMENTARY

Xi's absence provides Japan with a diplomatic window of opportunity

The COVID pandemic gives Kishida a golden opportunity to gain foreign policy momentum

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech via video for the opening ceremony of the 2020 China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing in September 2020. | REUTERS

By Stephen R. Nagy
Contributing Writer

Dec 13, 2021

Omicron has made it clear that the COVID-19 pandemic will be with us for the foreseeable future.

Among the many norms upended around the world, face-to-face diplomacy has also been a victim of the pandemic, which will have lasting consequences if in-person, leader-level diplomacy does not resume soon.

It’s been more than 18 months since President Xi Jinping has stepped outside mainland China. Zoom diplomacy has become the mainstay for the lifetime leader, presenting Japan and its allies and partners an opportunity to capture the foreign policy momentum adeptly cultivated by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during his nearly eight years in office.

Xi's absence provides Japan with a diplomatic window of opportunity

The COVID pandemic gives Kishida a golden opportunity to gain foreign policy momentum

In your social network

In your inbox

In your social network

In your inbox