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Jintao's Japan jaunt
ON May 6, China's President Hu Jintao began his five-day trip to Japan. This visit is intended to consolidate friendly relations with Japan. Hu's visit falls on the 30th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship, one of the three key political documents serving as the bedrock for developing friendly and cooperative ties between the two nations.
China and Japan, which are close neighbours separated by a narrow strip of water, have maintained friendly exchanges for more than 2,000 years.
In 1972, the two countries issued the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement and realised the normalisation of their diplomatic relations. The two sides then signed the Peace and Friendship Treaty and the Sino-Japanese Joint Declaration in 1978 and 1998, respectively.
Prior to the visit, in a message to Japanese readers in a Japanese-language magazine, the Chinese president reportedly said: "I sincerely hope the people of the two countries can maintain friendship generation after generation and create a brighter future for the Sino-Japanese friendship."
It is reported that Hu is expected to discuss trade, security and a dispute over undersea gas fields with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.
On May 6, Hu had an informal dinner with Fukuda at a Tokyo restaurant linked to Sun Yat-sen, China's revolutionary hero, reported Kyodo News. It is further reported that during the dinner the Chinese president stressed to Japanese prime minister that both countries had the capacity to contribute to peace and stability in Asia and the world.
During his five-day trip, Hu met Japanese Emperor Akihito, and held summit talks with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, who had visited Beijing in December. Hu spoke at Waseda University in Tokyo, visited a Chinese school in Yokohama, and offered a new panda to replace the long-beloved Ling Ling, who died in the last week of April.
This visit comes as both China and Japan try to move beyond lingering tensions over former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to the Yasukuni war shrine in Tokyo, past anti-Japanese riots in Shanghai and soccer violence in Beijing.
Tokyo hopes to sign accords on global warming, resolve disputes over oil and gas in the East China Sea, and boost the ruling party's dismal 20 percent approval rating.
Hu has been vocal about his positive expectations of the two countries' ties. Ahead of his trip, he told former Japanese leader Yasuhiro Nakasone that he thanked Japan for supporting the Olympics and securing the torch run in Nagano without major incident. Upon arrival, he said that both countries benefited from a "good neighbourly friendship."
Sino-Japanese relations
Late Chinese prime minister Zhou En Lai once said that the two countries "had a 2,000 year friendship and 50 year antagonism." The two countries have an uneasy relationship over many issues, which include territorial disputes and past war-time record. Ties between the two nations were strained in 1998 when President Jiang Zemin of China traveled to Tokyo expecting an apology over Japan's 1931-45 occupation of much of China. Rebuffed, Jiang lectured Japanese politicians about China's historical grievances. China is annoyed over a different portrayal of wartime history in Japanese textbooks. China has been uncomfortable with Japan's treatment of its wartime invasion of China, and with the visit to Yasukuni Shrine, where Second World War criminals were buried, by former prime minister of Japan. Both have disputes over gas and oil deposits under the East China Sea as both claim sovereignty. It is nothing unusual between neighbours. On the other hand, Japan is concerned about the growing diplomatic, economic and military power of China. Japan's desire to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council was dashed in 2005, partly because of China's objection to carrying out reforms of the Security Council. Relations with China cooled as Japan in the recent past became more assertive in terms of defence and foreign policy. Japan's close ties with the US are a concern to China. At one stage, former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe proposed a security alliance with Australia, India and US under the guise of unity among democratic countries. This proposed alliance was viewed with suspicion by China. With the election of the new prime minister in Australia last November, Australia removed any suggestion of "containment" policies directed against China by formal linkages between Australia, the US, Japan and India. To mend the relations, in October 2006, the then prime minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, paid an "ice-breaking" visit to China. During his stay in China, the two countries agreed to foster mutually beneficial relations based on common strategic interests in a bid to realise "peaceful coexistence, friendship for generations, mutually beneficial cooperation and common development." They also agreed to adhere to the principles prescribed in the three political documents, envisage history, look toward the future and properly handle the problems that hamper the development of bilateral ties, in an effort to keep the strong momentum of political and economic ties and promote China-Japan relations to a higher level. Cao Gangchuan, the then Chinese defense minister and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, visited Japan last August -- the first visit to Japan by a Chinese defense minister in nearly a decade. In April 2007, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao paid a visit to Japan. Eight months later his Japanese counterpart Yasuo Fukuda visited China in return. The two visits, dubbed "ice-thawing" and "spring-heralding" tours, further clarified the basic principles and essence of their mutually beneficial relations based on common strategic interests. The "China-Japan Exchange Year of Culture and Sports" in 2007 and the "China-Japan Friendly Exchange Year of the Youth" in 2008 have also ushered in a new era in the cultural exchanges and exchanges between the younger generations of the two countries. Both the countries need each other in a world of economic globalisation. Economic ties have thrived between the two countries and Japanese businesses see China as a huge market. Two-way trade reached $237 billion dollars last year, increasing 12% percent. China needs Japanese technology and investment to help develop its economy further, while Japan wants to sell more of its products to China as the US market has been slowing down. China has overtaken the US as Japan's trading partner. Japan wants to increase cooperation with China on security issues, partly because of North Korea's nuclear and missile programs. Hu's visit to Japan is expected to benefit the good-neighbourly cooperation between China and Japan and may leave far-reaching influence on future development of China-Japan relations. Hu's visit was the longest he has made to a single country, which, analysts say, is a sign of how important improving relations with Japan is to China. Both countries are important in Asia and the world and both need to work towards peaceful co-existence with a candid and sincere attitude. There are myriad reasons for the two countries to work towards peace, and the reinvigorated friendship between the two countries will provide good dividends for the whole of Asia and the world.
Late Chinese prime minister Zhou En Lai once said that the two countries "had a 2,000 year friendship and 50 year antagonism." The two countries have an uneasy relationship over many issues, which include territorial disputes and past war-time record. Ties between the two nations were strained in 1998 when President Jiang Zemin of China traveled to Tokyo expecting an apology over Japan's 1931-45 occupation of much of China. Rebuffed, Jiang lectured Japanese politicians about China's historical grievances. China is annoyed over a different portrayal of wartime history in Japanese textbooks. China has been uncomfortable with Japan's treatment of its wartime invasion of China, and with the visit to Yasukuni Shrine, where Second World War criminals were buried, by former prime minister of Japan. Both have disputes over gas and oil deposits under the East China Sea as both claim sovereignty. It is nothing unusual between neighbours. On the other hand, Japan is concerned about the growing diplomatic, economic and military power of China. Japan's desire to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council was dashed in 2005, partly because of China's objection to carrying out reforms of the Security Council. Relations with China cooled as Japan in the recent past became more assertive in terms of defence and foreign policy. Japan's close ties with the US are a concern to China. At one stage, former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe proposed a security alliance with Australia, India and US under the guise of unity among democratic countries. This proposed alliance was viewed with suspicion by China. With the election of the new prime minister in Australia last November, Australia removed any suggestion of "containment" policies directed against China by formal linkages between Australia, the US, Japan and India. To mend the relations, in October 2006, the then prime minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, paid an "ice-breaking" visit to China. During his stay in China, the two countries agreed to foster mutually beneficial relations based on common strategic interests in a bid to realise "peaceful coexistence, friendship for generations, mutually beneficial cooperation and common development." They also agreed to adhere to the principles prescribed in the three political documents, envisage history, look toward the future and properly handle the problems that hamper the development of bilateral ties, in an effort to keep the strong momentum of political and economic ties and promote China-Japan relations to a higher level. Cao Gangchuan, the then Chinese defense minister and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, visited Japan last August -- the first visit to Japan by a Chinese defense minister in nearly a decade. In April 2007, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao paid a visit to Japan. Eight months later his Japanese counterpart Yasuo Fukuda visited China in return. The two visits, dubbed "ice-thawing" and "spring-heralding" tours, further clarified the basic principles and essence of their mutually beneficial relations based on common strategic interests. The "China-Japan Exchange Year of Culture and Sports" in 2007 and the "China-Japan Friendly Exchange Year of the Youth" in 2008 have also ushered in a new era in the cultural exchanges and exchanges between the younger generations of the two countries. Both the countries need each other in a world of economic globalisation. Economic ties have thrived between the two countries and Japanese businesses see China as a huge market. Two-way trade reached $237 billion dollars last year, increasing 12% percent. China needs Japanese technology and investment to help develop its economy further, while Japan wants to sell more of its products to China as the US market has been slowing down. China has overtaken the US as Japan's trading partner. Japan wants to increase cooperation with China on security issues, partly because of North Korea's nuclear and missile programs. Hu's visit to Japan is expected to benefit the good-neighbourly cooperation between China and Japan and may leave far-reaching influence on future development of China-Japan relations. Hu's visit was the longest he has made to a single country, which, analysts say, is a sign of how important improving relations with Japan is to China. Both countries are important in Asia and the world and both need to work towards peaceful co-existence with a candid and sincere attitude. There are myriad reasons for the two countries to work towards peace, and the reinvigorated friendship between the two countries will provide good dividends for the whole of Asia and the world.
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