The senior diplomat for China reportedly asked Japan and South Korea to unite with Beijing on the basis of race in order to “revitalize East Asia.”
At the 2023 International Forum for Trilateral Cooperation, Wang Yi, the head of the Chinese Communist Party’s Foreign Affairs Commission and a former foreign minister, told Japanese and South Korean visitors that Americans couldn’t tell the three nations apart.
“Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans are all viewed as ‘Asians’ by Americans. They cannot tell the differences between us, and it’s the same in Europe. No matter how you dye your hair blonde, or if you lift your nose tip, you can never become a Westerner.” Wang claimed.
“We need to remember where we came from,” Wang continued.
Given their tense ties with Beijing and strong military alliance with Washington, Seoul and Tokyo may have dismissed the racist remarks.
The agreements between the two nations and the U.S. are focused on fending off China’s expanding influence and North Korea’s security concern.
The United States has more than 80,000 military soldiers stationed in South Korea and Japan, and the three nations have participated in a number of trilateral military actions.
After North Korea sent two long-range ballistic missiles into the sea between the two American allies earlier this year, Japan and South Korea took steps to repair their strained ties.
China has expressed its displeasure with the two nations’ joint remarks highlighting their crucial security interests in the Taiwan Strait.
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