There is an old saying: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Japan seems to be well aware of this adage, because it is oscillating between fellow democracies and China in order to strengthen its position in the race for influence in Asia.

Japan used to be one of the most vehement critics of the Belt and Road Initiative, together with the United States, but lately its stance on the BRI seems to be changing. In the first years after Shinzo Abe became Japan’s prime minister in 2012, relations between China and Japan were quite cool. China’s President Xi Jinping and Abe met many times, but only in short, informal settings. It took six years for one of the two leaders to finally secure an official visit to the other country, with Abe’s recent visit to China. Since 2014, the relations between the two countries have started to improve, especially in recent months, when China has become more and more affected by the trade war with the United States, while Japan has itself been the target of steel and aluminum tariffs.

The trade war convinced China to reconsider its relations with Japan in order to balance the economic losses in its relations with the United States. Japan took advantage of this and tried to do its best to establish friendlier relations with China. And the results are literally visible on the two leaders’ faces. If, in 2014, Xi didn’t look very happy to meet Abe at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC), things had changed by the 2018 Eastern Economic Forum, held in September in Vladivostok. Not only did Xi look happier to meet Abe, but they decided to schedule an official meeting in Beijing, a landmark visit that Abe undertook in late October.

The improved relations between China and Japan aren’t limited to politics, but also extend to the economic level, with Japan joining China in developing infrastructure projects in Asia. “If you can’t beat them, join them” seems to be Abe’s newest motto, and he oversaw the signing of 500 business deals and a $30 billion currency swap agreement while in China.

Japan’s renewed interest in China contrasts with the steady attention Japan has focused on Asia. Japan is very interested in investing in infrastructure in Asia, especially through the Asian Development Bank, and it decided to team up with China in order to reduce the competition between the two.

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This article has been published by Andreea Brînză, Vice President of RISAP, in The Diplomat. You can read the rest of the article in The Diplomat.