US ambassador to Japan warns of Chinese economic coercion

By FOSTER KLUG and MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — The U.S. ambassador in Tokyo says his government is working with Japan and other likeminded countries to counter Chinese attempts to use its economic might to force political change around the world. Rahm Emanuel, who was previously mayor of Chicago and chief of staff for President Barack Obama, is pushing what he calls “commercial diplomacy.” It’s the idea that the United States and Japan will be more eager to do business with other similarly secure and stable countries amid worries about the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and Chinese economic coercion. In an interview with AP, Emanuel said China had blocked shipments of rare earth metals to Japan over a territorial dispute and South Korea suffered Chinese boycotts when it installed a U.S. missile defense system.