(NewsNation) — President Joe Biden is hosting Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during his official visit to the U.S. this week, celebrating a decades-long alliance between the two nations and spotlighting shared concerns about China’s military action in the Pacific.
The White House is already calling the visit a remarkable and historic summit between two leaders. A senior official from the Biden administration called the U.S. relationship with Japan one of, if not the country’s most important alliance.
White House officials expect the 24-hour visit to produce about 70 takeaways, with the growing threat of China at the top of the agenda.
Chinese coast guards are regularly patrolling the disputed Japanese-controlled East China Sea islands near Taiwan. This comes as China claims Taiwan as its own and says it will take it by force if necessary.
Currently, the U.S. is weighing adding Japan to AUKUS, the partnership between Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. China is already objecting to Japan’s prospective role in the pact. Currently, there are over 50,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan.
Meanwhile, China is meeting with Taiwan’s former president and touting a family reunion.
Another topic that is likely to come up is U.S. Steel. Last month, President Biden said he was opposed to the planned sale of Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel, exposing a rift in the partnership during the moment the two leaders are hoping to reinforce it.
Nippon Steel announced in December that it planned to buy U.S. Steel for $14.1 billion in cash, raising concerns about what the transaction could mean for unionized workers, supply chains and U.S. national security.
Shigeo Yamada, Japan’s ambassador to Washington, declined to comment on whether Kishida would raise the Nippon-U.S. Steel deal with Biden.
In announcing his opposition, Biden argued that the U.S. needs to “maintain strong American steel companies powered by American steelworkers.” When asked how this will impact relations with Japan, Ambassador Rahm Emanuel, Biden’s envoy to Tokyo, said the relationship between the countries is “far bigger” than a single commercial deal.
Kishida was welcomed to Washington D.C. with all the pomp and circumstance of a state visit as the White House prepares to host a lavish State Dinner celebrating springtime.
More than 200 guests with ties to both nations and hailing from the fields of politics, government, business and entertainment will dine on a meal designed to highlight the “bounty of spring” in Japan and the United States.