EU-Japan Competitiveness Alliance deepens ties

LAST week saw much media reportage on the chill in relations between China and the European Union that was shown at their Beijing summit. However, less has been said about the warmth of the European-Japanese ties shown in Tokyo only 24 hours earlier.

At the 30th EU-Japan summit last Wednesday (Jul 23), attended by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, the two powers launched a new Competitiveness Alliance focused on trade, green and digital innovation, plus economic security. Priorities include strengthening supply chains for raw materials and batteries, regulatory cooperation, and joint industrial efforts in hydrogen, liquefied natural gas (LNG), offshore wind and semiconductors.

The new initiative stems from the broader deepening of Japan-EU economic ties under the bilateral economic partnership agreement and other forums such as the EU-Japan Green Alliance, the Partnership on Sustainable Connectivity and Quality Infrastructure, as well as the bilateral digital partnership. EU firms already export around 70 billion euros (S$103.8 billion) in goods and 28 billion euros in services to Japan annually, and bilateral trade has increased by about 20 per cent since 2019, according to Dr von der Leyen.