Guide
The normalization of Sino-Japanese relations ushered in a new stage in East Asian politics after World War II and promoted the economic prosperity of East Asia. But today, 50 years later, Japan's China policy has changed drastically, ideologically rejecting China, confronting China diplomatically and security, and challenging China on sensitive issues such as Taiwan and the Diaoyu Dao. Standing at a new historical turning point, China and Japan need more active and constructive dialogue and exchanges, and the Japanese side needs to correctly view China's rise, continue to abide by a series of important consensuses formed by the two countries in the past 50 years, and show strategic vision.
Author: Zhu Feng
Executive Dean of School of International Relations, Nanjing University
The 50th anniversary of the normalization of Sino-Japanese relations is approaching. From September 25 to 29, 1972, then Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka paid a historic visit to China. On September 29, China and Japan signed a joint statement declaring that the two countries would end their abnormal state of affairs and formally establish diplomatic relations. Fifty years ago, the political consensus of the leaders of the two countries to re-establish normal relations ushered in a new stage in East Asian politics after World War II. This is an era of historical reconciliation, an era of joint cherishing cooperation and peace, and an era when East Asia has begun to cross the Cold War divide. In August 1978, the Sino-Japanese Treaty of Peace and Friendship was signed in Beijing, laying a new rule-based foundation for bilateral relations and should continue to be an unshakable belief that the governments and peoples of the two countries will always remember and unshakable.
Today, however, Sino-Japanese relations have reached a turning point in history. From the Abe administration that came to power in 2012 to the Kishida administration today, the "China orientation" of Japan's security policy has become clearer. Japan has no longer concealed itself, directly defining China as the "greatest threat" to the Indo-Pacific region, and stressing that Japan should break through the constraints of the post-war "peace constitution", expand its armaments and war, and substantively deploy a long-range strike capability against China. The "China factor" may push Japan to completely end the post-war security system based on home defense and instead play an active regional security role in the Indo-Pacific region aimed at containing China.
Image source: China Daily
What is even more disturbing is that Japan's Taiwan policy today is also hollowing out and blurring the "one-China principle" commitment made by Japan and China in the past 50 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, in an attempt to join hands with the United States on the Taiwan issue and jointly weaken and block China's strategic goal aimed at curbing Taiwan independence forces and realizing national reunification.
Why did Japan's China policy become so arrogant? The roots behind it are diverse. First of all, as the world's third largest economy and the "democratic country" of the United States and the Western camp, Japan has always mistakenly regarded China as "alternative" in ideology and value choices for nearly 10 years, and with the rise of China, it has become more and more simple and narrow to "reject China", refusing to face and accept a China that has begun to become strong, and the "Chinese voice" with the core concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind.
Second, around 2010, China's GDP began to catch up and surpass Japan's. The development of China's comprehensive national strength has begun to significantly narrow the gap with Japan, and Japan's concerns about the "security dilemma" of a rising China are rising. "Uniting the United States to Make China" has become a strategic choice for Japan's China policy. In the face of China's rise, Japan's "strategic ambiguity" toward China has disappeared and has gradually been replaced by "strategic clarity" with the goal of "balancing China.".
Third, the territorial dispute over the Diaoyu Islands has not yet been resolved. Due to the Japanese Government's refusal to recognize and accept the fact that there is a territorial dispute over the Diaoyu Islands between China and Japan, and stubbornly adhering to the confrontational policy of "no acceptance, no negotiation, and no compromise," the Sino-Japanese confrontation in the waters of the Diaoyu Islands continues to exist, constantly inciting, misleading, and intensifying Japan's anti-China nationalist sentiments.
Image source: Xinhua News Agency
In the face of such a passive and all-round confrontational transition of Japan's China policy, what does China think? Beijing's policies have always been clear and consistent. First of all, we kindly and patiently expect Japan to be able to reasonably and accurately judge and recognize the facts of China's rise. A strong, civilized China has never really invaded and threatened Japan. On the contrary, Sino-Japanese exchanges complement and promote each other for the development of the two countries.
Second, Japan's national tradition of "leaving Asia and joining Europe" is Japan's choice, and China has never intervened. However, Japan must realize that China's reform and opening up and Sino-Japanese economic cooperation in the late 1970s jointly opened up the "East Asian era" on the world's political and economic map. The three countries of China, Japan, and the ROK and the countries of Southeast Asia have jointly pursued peace, development and prosperity, which has made today's East Asia one of the three major centers of gravity of the world economy after Western Europe and North America. The continuous cooperation and exchanges in East Asia have not only led to the overall development of the region, but also become an innovative force that has broken the 500-year history of Western-centrism dominating world politics. East Asia has also become the world's most tranquil and developmental region since the end of the Cold War. Both Japan and China have benefited.
Third, Sino-Japanese relations have come out of the history of Japan's invasion of China, and have joined hands to create a sustainable 50-year history of mutual respect and cooperative development of diplomatic relations, deepening the emotional ties between the Chinese and Japanese peoples and broadening the pattern of economic interdependence between the two countries. This is the blessing of the chinese and Japanese peoples, and it is also one of the roots of the rise of East Asia.
Image source: China Daily
China-Japan relations need to enter a more positive and constructive period of dialogue, communication and exchange. Stopping the hollowing out of the "one-China policy" and restraining Japanese politicians from "arching fire" on the Taiwan issue needs to become the consensus of Japanese political circles. This is a crucial moment for Japan to demonstrate its strategic vision as a great power. In the 1972 Sino-Japanese Joint Declaration, the Japanese Government clearly recognized that the Government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legitimate government of China, understood and respected the Chinese Government's position that "Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory," and reiterated its adherence to the contents of Article 8 of the Potsdam Proclamation. The joint statement also stressed: "The Japanese side deeply feels the responsibility of the Japanese state for the heavy damage caused to the Chinese people by the war in the past, and expresses profound reflection." After the Sino-Japanese joint statement was issued, Japan severed "diplomatic relations" with the Taiwan authorities, and then China and Japan signed a series of agreements on trade, aviation, shipping, science, technology, and culture.
Differences in political, social and ideological systems should not be obstacles to state-to-state interaction. 50 years ago, in the spirit of mutual respect and seeking common ground while reserving differences, the leaders of the older generation of the two countries transcended differences, normalized diplomatic relations in the Cold War environment, and set an example of peaceful coexistence and friendly exchanges between countries of different camps. In the 1972 Sino-Japanese Joint Declaration, the two sides clearly wrote: "Despite their different social systems, China and Japan should and can establish peaceful and friendly relations. "Today, 50 years later, there is no reason for both sides not to be able to do this.
Image source: Oriental IC
The four Sino-Japanese political documents (the 1972 Sino-Japanese Joint Declaration, the 1978 Sino-Japanese Treaty of Peace and Friendship, the 1998 Sino-Japanese Joint Declaration, and the 2008 Sino-Japanese Joint Declaration on Comprehensively Promoting Strategic reciprocal Relations) and a series of important consensus reached by the two sides since the normalization of diplomatic relations have laid down rules for handling major issues of principle such as history and Taiwan and sensitive issues such as the Diaoyu Islands and sea-related issues, which are solemn commitments made between the two governments and the fundamental guarantee for ensuring the stability and long-term development of Sino-Japanese relations. It must be fulfilled to the letter.
In 2021, the total trade in goods between China and Japan reached a record high of US$371.4 billion; In addition, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) entered into force on January 1 this year, and China and Japan, as member states, are the first to reach a bilateral tariff concession arrangement, which is expected to further benefit the economic and trade development of the two countries. In the face of the new turbulent changes in the world's politics and economy caused by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, China and Japan should work together to show the world the responsibilities and strategic vision of the two countries.
Source: China Daily