Japan augments diplomacy to prevent “losing” Global South to China: Report

The Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima is just a month away, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is planning a multi-country trip to compete with China and Russia for influence in Africa, according to Nikkei Asia.

PM Kishida will depart next week on Japan’s first multi-country trip to Africa since 2014. Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, and Mozambique are all part of the Global South, a loosely defined group of over 100 developing countries. Because of the valuable natural resources acquired by many Global South countries, as well as their general diplomatic aversion to the United States, overtures from Russia and China have alarmed Tokyo.

Kishida has told his aides that Chinese President Xi Jinping and senior Chinese officials “have been going all over Africa and Latin America,” adding, “At this rate, we’ll lose to them,” as per Nikkei Asia.

In January, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang visited Egypt, a month after Xi met with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Saudi Arabia.

Kenya’s trade with China increased by 27% last year, and polling shows that positive attitudes towards Beijing have risen to 82% from 58% in 2021.

According to China’s official Xinhua News Agency, a Chinese-backed liquefied natural gas project began production in November in Mozambique, a resource-rich country. In addition, Ghana’s finance minister visited China last month to discuss debt restructuring following the country’s default in December, according to a report in Nikkei Asia.

The Global South’s support will be critical to the G7’s efforts to isolate China and Russia.

In a statement issued following their meeting this week, G7 foreign ministers emphasised the importance of maintaining a “international order based on the rule of law,” citing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s disregard for international law in the East and South China seas.

But the G7 no longer has the economic clout it once did. Members that accounted for more than 60% of global GDP from the 1970s to the 1990s now account for less than 50% of global GDP.
Tokyo’s new outreach initiatives extend beyond Africa. Japan’s Foreign Minister, Yoshimasa Hayashi, is planning a trip to Latin America later this month.

Peru and Chile are both members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement, to which China has applied. According to Nikkei Asia, Hayashi is expected to argue that new members must adhere to the CPTPP’s high level of trade liberalisation.

Japan seeks to strengthen ties with the Global South by providing finance, training, and other assistance to countries dealing with high energy costs, food shortages, and climate change, while also communicating Tokyo’s positions on the Ukraine crisis and the East Asian geopolitical situation.

According to Nikkei Asia, Japan announced plans last month to provide development assistance based on the needs of recipients.