China may be a step closer to reopening its doors to Japanese seafood imports after Beijing signalled it was keen to strengthen trade in food and agricultural products. Meeting his Japanese counterpart Taku Eto in Beijing on Friday,

The trip gave the impression that Japan’s relations with China were on the mend. Iwaya indicated that Japan would be open to hosting a Japan-China-South Korea Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in early 2025,

Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, said in an interview that “we’ve just stuck with our theory, which is managed competition.” Trump and Xi Jinping might have other plans.

China said Friday that its population fell for the third straight year in 2024, falling by almost 1.4 million to 1.408 billion. Elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s population has been falling for 15 years , while South Korea’s growth turned negative in 2021. In Italy, the number of births has fallen below 400,000 for the first time since the 19th century.

President Biden and his team saw China as the one nation with the intent and capability to displace American primacy — and crafted policies to defend U.S. power.

Speaking in Manila, Iwaya Takeshi said that his country’s partnership with Southeast Asia was “vital for regional peace and stability,”

Taiwan’s companies invested a record amount of money in the US and Japan last year while the figure for China stagnated — highlighting supply-chain shifts resulting from worsening cross-strait ties.

Japanese chip gear makers trimmed their revenue forecast for fiscal 2025, citing fears of a slowdown in spending in China as well as by makers of automotive and power chips.

China said on Thursday it would apply provisional duties on imports of industrial plastics from the United States, European Union, Japan and Taiwan after a months-long anti-dumping investigation.

Japan and China have agreed to keep communicating over early lifting of China's import ban on Japanese beef. The ban has continued for more than 20 years.

Asian stocks edged up on Friday, drawing support from unexpectedly strong growth in China's economy at the end of last year, although gains were limited by caution ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration as U.

The figures follow trends worldwide, but especially in East Asia, where Japan, South Korea and other nations have seen their birth rates plummet.