China-Japan relations must be viewed through long lense

By Zhao Qizheng (People's Daily Overseas Edition)

16:44, August 26, 2011

Edited and Translated by People's Daily Online

A recent public opinion survey conducted by China Daily and Japanese non-profit organization Genron NPO before the 7th Beijing-Tokyo Forum shows that about 29 percent of Chinese respondents held a favorable opinion of Japan or more than 70 percent of Chinese people surveyed had a negative feeling about Japan. A lower percentage of Japanese people surveyed held a favorable opinion of China, standing at only less than 21 percent. This shows how weak the ties between the two countries' people are, and the fragility of China-Japan relations is worth pondering. 

China-Japan relations are characterized by multiplicity and complexity: they are close neighbors both in terms of geographical proximity and cultural similarities. Their winding historical relations are made up of 2000 years of exchanges, 50 years of war and 60 years of peaceful development after World War II. They also have West-East ties that have both negative and positive effects. 

To contain China, some Western countries hold to outdated "values-oriented diplomacy," which refers to diplomatic policies made based ideologies and political systems, and which is rooted in the Cold War. Japanese leaders have also advocated values-oriented diplomacy over recent years. They also maintain the relations between the global South and the North. Japan is a developed country, while China is a developing country. 

They also have the relationship of coexistence and competition. Japan, Australia and South Korea appear to find that their economic and strategic interests are already varied. The three countries' largest economic partner is China, and their most important political and military partner is the United States. Japan's recent "White Papers on Defense" has played up the "China threat theory" to its people. The economic ties between China, Japan and the United States have seemed like an equilateral triangle over recent years, while their political and military ties seemed like another triangle with the side between Japan and the United States being much shorter. The inconsistent relations have also complicated Japan's attitude toward China. 

The 2,000 years of friendship and 50 years of confrontation between China and Japan have proven that cooperation benefits both sides, while confrontation results in harm. Their long-standing friendship can be attributed to a deep-rooted tradition of cultural exchanges, and the 50 years of confrontation can be ascribed to the Japanese invasion of China. The people and officials of both countries have made great efforts to restore friendly relationships with each other over the past 60 years after the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War. The people of the two countries, especially young people, should learn true history, draw lessons from past mistakes, and stick to friendly relations in their pursuit of national prosperity. 

Both countries know clearly about the real causes of the perennial problems plaguing their bilateral relations and are aware of the importance of a positive relationship to their national interests. The key is to completely solve these problems step by step. The two countries should take a far-sighted approach to managing their relations to achieve mutual benefit and progress. 

The far-sighted approach is maintaining a positive attitude toward bilateral relations, developing common interests, conducting win-win economic cooperation, coordinating geopolitical strategy and treating territorial disputes and emergencies with caution. Both sides should leave some wiggle room when handling sensitive issues, and Japan's wrongful arrest of Chinese fishermen over the Diaoyu Islands dispute should have been avoided. 

China and Japan should regard the overall situations of the two countries and the world as the priority and correctly understand and handle the frictions in the China-Japan relations but should not let the temporary tension sacrifice the future or let the individual cases affect the overall China-Japan relations. Both sides should make more efforts to promote the peace and development, but should not do the things that will intensify the contradictions or tension. These are the fundamental attitudes that the two big countries of China and Japan should have. 

China's peaceful development is China's largest national interests and also the common interests of China and Japan. Correctly understanding and handling the China-Japan relations is a historic burden of the people and politicians of the two countries. Treating and handling the issues strategically means considering and handling the issues in a historical, overall and future view. It is the only correct way. The China-Japan relations should be subject to and serve the overall global situation of peace and development. Jointly promoting the peace and development of Northeast Asia, Asia and even the world should be a common historic responsibility of the two counties. 

The author is the director of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the president of the School of Journalism and Communications under the Renmin University of China.

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