Text/Guan Junran
Editor/Paint Field
As the whistle sounded, four giant Pikachu dolls entered the venue with neat steps and swaying from side to side. People eager to take a group photo have long been lined up on the side of the stage.
From September 24th to 25th, at U-Tang Shopping Center in Chaoyangmen, Beijing, a folk commemorative event with the theme of "Working Together for a Better Future" was held. During the Ultraman Q&A session, the photo with Pikachu and the display of the signature of Japanese figure skater Yusei Yuse, Japanese companies in China firmly controlled the "traffic code" that attracted ordinary Chinese.
On September 25, at the U-Town Shopping Center in Chaoyangmen, Beijing, a folk commemorative event with the theme of "Working Together for a Better Future" was held.
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, more than 100 Japanese companies initiated and sponsored this non-governmental event. Yoshiko Kijima, minister of the Japanese Embassy in China and director of the Press and Culture Center, excitedly told Phoenix Weekly at the scene: "These enterprises have begun to prepare a year and a half in advance, and they have met and discussed repeatedly. We didn't get approved until a week ago. Although the promotion time is very short, it still attracts tens of thousands of Chinese people in two days. ”
On September 24, the two-day "2022 Japan-China Exchange Festival" event kicked off at Yoyogi Park in Tokyo, Japan.
For this event, Japanese Ambassador to China Shusuo Kui and former Chinese ambassador to Japan and executive vice president of the China-Japan Friendship Association Cheng Yonghua jointly stood on the platform. In his speech, Tsutomu stressed the significance of holding the event, saying it "will help deepen mutual understanding and trust between the two peoples." Cheng Yonghua also said: "I hope that Chinese can understand the culture and traditions of Japan through this event. ”
The non-governmental commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, with the theme of "Working Together for a Better Future", opened in Beijing on September 24.
On the same weekend, a celebration called the "2022 Japan-China Exchange Festival" was also taking place in Yoyogi Park in Tokyo, Japan. A cute "Kumamoto bear" danced the Chinese broadcast gymnastics "The Times Are Calling" on the park stage, and the latest video of the giant panda in the Ueno Zoo was played on the big screen, from the bridge rice noodles in Yunnan to the large steak of chicken and marinated meat rice in Taiwan, and Chinese cuisine was all over the venue. This was commented by Chinese netizens as a "hardcore cultural export". At Japan's largest Sino-Japanese exchange ceremony, former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and former ambassador to China Yuji Miyamoto also came to the scene.
On September 29, Chinese President Xi Jinping exchanged congratulatory messages with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Xi Jinping stressed that I attach great importance to the development of China-Japan relations, and I am willing to work with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to lead the two sides to take the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations as an opportunity, conform to the trend of the trend, and work together to build China-Japan relations that meet the requirements of the new era. Kishida Fumio said that Japan is willing to work with China to build constructive and stable Japan-China relations in the next 50 years and jointly promote peace and prosperity between the two countries, the region, and the world.
The scene of the reception for the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan
Between the ups and downs of cold and warmth, the top level is looking for an opportunity for summit talks
Kishida Fumio did not attend the 50th anniversary of the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations in Tokyo on September 29, but was addressed by Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimoto.
Kishida considered attending the event but may have abandoned attendance at the event because the Japan-China foreign ministers' talks were not realized in New York earlier in September, according to Japan's Kyodo News Agency. In the end, Lin Fangzheng raised a glass with Kong Xuanyou, Chinese ambassador to Japan, Masahiro Tokura, president of the Federation of Economic Organizations, Yasuo Fukuda, former speaker of the House of Representatives, Yohei Kono, and former secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party.
On September 22, 2022, Ambassador Kong Xuanyou to Japan held a grand reception to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations at the New Otani Hotel in Tokyo.
"The event site was quiet. After the end, people from all over China and Japan chatted and exchanged business cards. Mr. Mizuhashi, a Japanese person who participated in this activity, lamented to Phoenix Weekly, "I am the third generation who witnessed Sino-Japanese trade exchanges. There is a saying that 'three generations are not rich', the first generation has opened up the road, the second generation has built the road, and in our generation, we need to continue the Sino-Japanese friendship through this road. I hope that the Japanese government will put more effort [into Japan-China relations]. ”
As Mizuhashi said, three generations have experienced fifty years of Sino-Japanese relations, both intimate and friendly moments and ups and downs. Those sensitive issues between China and Japan are like "low pressure" that always linger over the two countries. This undercurrent has hindered the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations and interfered with the further development of the strategic mutually beneficial relations between the two countries.
In 1972, then-Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka paid a high-profile visit to China, and bilateral relations entered a new stage. In October 1978, Deng Xiaoping returned to Japan and attended the signing ceremony of the Sino-Japanese Treaty of Peace and Friendship with then Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda, visited Nippon Steel, Panasonic, Nissan and other companies, and proposed to learn from Japan.
In 1972, when Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka paid a high-profile visit to China, relations between the two countries entered a new stage.
But with the end of the Cold War and the development of the world in the direction of multipolarization, Japan's perception of China has also changed. Especially when the Japanese bubble economy burst in the 1990s, the Japanese people gradually lost confidence, and some right-wingers began to write new history textbooks. In the new century, Sino-Japanese relations have become even more uncertain and frictions have arisen from time to time. From 2001 to 2006, then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited the Yasukuni Shrine six times, causing dissatisfaction in China and South Korea.
The year 2010 marked a key turning point in relations — China's gross domestic product (GDP) surpassed Japan to become the world's second-largest economy, reversing their national strengths. Since then, the GDP gap between China and Japan has widened further. In the face of a rising China, Japan's security concerns are rising.
During the transitional period of "reversal of national strength", the territorial issue became the most intense dispute of this period. In 2010, the ship collision incident in the waters off the Diaoyu Islands between China and Japan, and the "nationalization" of the Diaoyu Islands by Japan in 2012 prompted an anti-Japanese march in China, and the relations between the two countries fell to the bottom. Although China and Japan reached a four-point consensus on restarting exchanges based on the "four political documents" in 2014, they have not had a significant effect on the relations between the two countries that have fallen to the freezing point.
Since 2018, China and the United States have entered a "new Cold War" pattern, and in this context, Sino-Japanese relations have become more fragile. Japan invited China's top leaders to visit Japan in the spring of 2020 on the occasion of a visit by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in May 2018 and then Prime Minister Abe Abe in October 2018, but due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, people-to-people exchanges between China and Japan were interrupted.
After Prime Minister Fumio Kishida came to power in 2022, Japan's security policy has become clearer and "pointing to China." At the Group of Seven (G7) summit in June, Kishida spent a lot of time addressing China: "The situation in the East China Sea and the South China Sea is extremely serious" and "Today's Ukraine may be tomorrow's East Asia." Japan also defines China as the "greatest threat" in the Indo-Pacific, calls for higher military spending to expand armaments, and plays a role in the Indo-Pacific region aimed at containing China. There have even been incidents in which LDP lawmakers want to forcibly board the Diaoyu Islands and a confrontation between China and Japan Coast Guard vessels.
What is even more disturbing is that the Kishida government is now making a fuss about the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea issue. After former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stepped down from office, he shouted that "if there is something in Taiwan, there is something wrong with Japan," and the Kishida government has also actively followed the United States in launching a provocation against Chinese mainland on the Taiwan Strait issue.
On August 5, Lin Fangzheng was just about to speak at the ASEAN Regional Forum Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, when Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov left at the same time. Japan's "Asahi Shimbun" interpretation believes that China is protesting the so-called Taiwan-related statements issued by the Group of Seven (G7) countries, including Japan, and the European Union after Pelosi's channeling into Taiwan. The previously agreed Sino-Japanese foreign ministers' meeting was also cancelled.
It wasn't until two weeks later that a seven-hour conversation confirmed the determination to restructure Sino-Japanese relations and showed some signs of easing the deserted commemorative atmosphere.
On August 17, Yang Jiechi, director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, held talks with Tsuyoshi Akiba, director of Japan's National Security Bureau, in Tianjin. The two sides expressed their positions on issues of mutual concern, and the two agreed that "it is necessary to work towards building a constructive and stable relationship between China and Japan, and confirmed that dialogue will continue." As September 29 marks the 50th anniversary of the normalization of Sino-Japanese relations, the two governments will begin to restructure Sino-Japanese relations. On September 22, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang held a high-level video dialogue with representatives of the Japanese economic community to dialogue and exchange views on a wide range of issues such as China-Japan relations, economic and trade cooperation, responding to global economic and financial challenges, climate change, and aging.
Li Keqiang pointed out that economic and trade cooperation has always been the "ballast stone" and "propeller" of Sino-Japanese relations. China is willing to work with Japan to promote the quality and upgrading of all-round, wide-ranging and multi-level cooperation between the two countries. Make good use of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) to tap the potential of regional economic growth. Under the premise of doing a good job in epidemic prevention work, China will increase direct flights between China and Japan in an orderly manner to further facilitate personnel exchanges between the two sides. He also stressed: "China adheres to the basic national policy of opening up to the outside world without wavering, and the door to opening up to the outside world will only open wider and wider." ”
On September 28, Chinese National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Vice Chairman Wan Gang held talks with Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinichi Matsuno during the funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and the two sides confirmed their positions aimed at stabilizing relations between the two countries based on the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan.
Senior officials from China and Japan are working hard to find opportunities to hold China-Japan summits in Bali, Indonesia, in November. In the past three years, China's top leader has had only one conversation with Japan's prime minister, in September 2020 with former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and in October 2021 with Fumio Kishida.
In response to the Sino-Japanese summit, Hiroichi Matsuno said at a press conference on September 29 that "there is no decision at present" and that various dialogues are under way between Japan and China and will continue in the future. The outside world expects that with the meeting between the two heads of state, the stones between China and Japan may be removed as soon as possible.
A series of exchange activities have evoked 50 years of interaction
On the night of September 29, at the commemorative event at the Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall, figure skater Yusei Yusuke, wearing black leather shoes, a dark suit and a red tie, appeared in a round of applause. He not only Chinese the big show at the scene, but also said to the fans who supported him: "I will contribute to promoting friendly exchanges between China and Japan in the future, and will continue to challenge the four-and-a-half jump." ”
On September 29, Yusei Yusuke attended the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and China in Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo.
At the Beijing Winter Olympics at the beginning of the year, Yu Sheng "pulled" Sino-Japanese relations with his own strength. On February 20, Yusei Yusuke's track in the figure skating exhibition competition was "Spring is Coming". The moment he kissed the ice during the performance made the fans feel touched and heartbroken. There is a comment, "The appearance of Yusheng means that spring has come, and it is an ice-breaking journey in Sino-Japanese relations." ”
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations, various people-to-people exchange activities have been held one after another.
As early as June 8, a good film festival "Forever Neighbor" was launched at the Millennium Monument in Beijing. The reporter of Phoenix Weekly saw such a passage in the "preface" section of the exhibition: "Fifty and know the destiny." As a neighboring country that can never be moved, maintaining and developing Sino-Japanese friendly and cooperative relations conforms to the fundamental interests of the two countries and the two peoples, and is also conducive to peace, stability and prosperity in Asia and even the world. ”
"Eternal Neighbor - Photographic Exhibition Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Normalization of Sino-Japanese Diplomatic Relations"
The festival began preparations six months in advance, and nearly 20,000 photographs were collected through social solicitation and directional invitations, and 202 works were finally exhibited. Among them, the Japanese ambassador to China, who loves photography, shared the photo "The Shining Corner Tower". Side-by-side with it is a photograph of the town of Lake Kawaguchi, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, by Cheng Yonghua, former Chinese ambassador to Japan.
The 202 works also evoke bits and pieces of people-to-people exchanges between China and Japan over the past 50 years. For example, during the honeymoon period from the normalization of diplomatic relations to the 1980s and 1990s, high-level mutual visits gave a broad space for people-to-people exchanges. Among them are photos showing Japanese citizens viewing portraits of Mao Zedong and Kakuei Tanaka and banners celebrating the resumption of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations in September 1972 in front of the window of the Takashimaya Department Store in Tokyo. In the 1980s, many Japanese war orphans arrived in Japan to find relatives. Most of these Japanese orphans abandoned during the war were raised by their adoptive Chinese parents and started a family.
Even when political relations between the two countries are in friction or even deteriorating rapidly, people-to-people exchanges have never been interrupted. In the past 50 years, China and Japan have concluded a total of 260 pairs of sister cities. The scale of personnel exchanges has increased from less than 10,000 per year at the beginning of the normalization of diplomatic relations to 12 million before the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic. The number of flights between China and Japan has also increased more than 22 times from 54 flights per week when it was first opened in 1987 to 1250 flights. Bilateral trade has grown from $1 billion to more than $370 billion today.
However, in the three years since the epidemic, people-to-people exchanges between China and Japan have been almost completely blocked. On September 21, a poll released by the Japanese non-governmental think tank "Speech NPO" showed that 67.1% of Japanese respondents did not know that this year was the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, 43.9% of Japanese respondents were dissatisfied with the current Japan-China relations, and 40% of respondents believed that the exchange of visits between the leaders of the two countries should be implemented as soon as possible.
Recently, former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, who is 84 years old, attended various commemorative activities, and he sighed: "It has been 50 years since the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, and today we still need those of us in our 80s to take the stage to promote bilateral relations. ”
Similar feelings include Akio Takahara, a well-known Japanese expert on China issues and a professor at the University of Tokyo. He told Phoenix Weekly: "Almost all the people I see are old faces, lacking fresh blood." Japan-China relations cannot be resolved solely by experts who study Japan-China issues, but we need people from all walks of life to understand and discuss them together. ”
Recently, Makiko Tanaka, the eldest daughter of former Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka, revealed in an interview with the Associated Press that she has been invited to give a speech at Tsinghua University. At the same time, she plans to invite a Chinese delegation to her father's hometown of Niigata Prefecture for a commemorative event later this year. Kakuei Tanaka, known as the Sino-Japanese friendly "well digger," was buried at the Tanaka Family Cemetery in Niigata Prefecture after his death in 1993.
In Tanaka's view, diplomatic relations are about people, and whether you can develop personal relationships and communicate when necessary. "There are not many politicians who can do this."
"There is no hope of improving political relations between the two countries at this time, but I am promoting deep people-to-people ties." "If commercial, scientific, and cultural exchanges are promoted more, there will be a sense of intimacy between the two countries," Makiko Tanaka admired. ”
Japan will fully liberalize inbound tourism from October 11 this year, cancel a series of border control measures to prevent the epidemic, and revitalize the tourism industry. After three years, Chinese tourists are also looking forward to the day when they can travel to Japan.
The 43-year assistance to China has come to an end, and cooperation with China is far from over
The normalization of diplomatic relations has been accompanied by Japan's government development assistance (ODA) to China. During the Beijing Winter Olympics, the ODA program, which has lasted for 43 years, came to a quiet end.
In February of this year, in Muyang County, northeast of Suqian City, Jiangsu Province, Yabe, a 25-year-old young Japanese boy, was teaching Japanese lessons for the last semester. In 2019, after graduating from the Department of International Studies at Tokyo Women's University, Yabe was sent to China as a member of the Japan Youth Overseas Cooperation Team.
In 1965, Japan created the Japan Youth Overseas Cooperation Team to send volunteers to developing countries and regions. In 1974, after the establishment of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to implement the ODA project, the Youth Overseas Cooperation Team became an important part of it.
"At that time I was very interested in world culture and the profession of Japanese language teacher, and I studied international relations while in school. In order to be sent abroad, I enrolled in a cultural anthropology seminar and attended a training course for Japanese language teachers. Yabe said.
At Kenneshi High School, Yabe attends, has more than 2,000 students studying Japanese, accounting for more than 40% of the school's students. But before her, there had never been a Japanese teacher here. In the classroom, more than half of the students come from the surrounding rural areas. She said: "Many children from poor families have a weak foundation due to lack of conditions to learn English, and instead choose to take the college entrance examination in Japanese. "The students here are very hardworking, staying in school every day from 6:30 am to 10 pm, with only one day off per month.
Due to the epidemic, Yabe returned to Japan for more than a year, until the second half of last year, waiting for the opportunity to return to China. She returned to school and completed the last 8 months of teaching. Before parting, the student wrote in a message to her: "I will contact you more in the future." ”
"I feel a little sorry. It would be nice to have Japanese volunteers come later, so that we can have in-depth exchanges and continue this good relationship. Yabe said. With the end of her term, Japan's ODA project on China officially came to an end.
JICA's dispatch of youth volunteers to China began in 1986 and has since been 850 people. "Not only are we sent to China, our volunteers are also sent to more than 100 countries around the world. They are audited by an interview, and after being asked about the country they want to travel to, they are assigned according to the needs of the applicant country. Miho Sasaki, director of JICA China, told Phoenix Weekly, "Japanese language teachers are the most dispatched professions, and other nurses, preschool education, baseball teachers, etc. ”
In Sasaki's memory, around 2000 was the heyday of JICA's China office, when there were 60 to 70 employees, and now there are only 8 people left. "In fact, the period with the most budget was in the second half of the 1990s, but because it was actually implemented in the early 2000s, it was the largest number of people at that time."
Miho Sasaki, Director of JICA China
"Distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors" is her summary of Japan's assistance to China in the past 43 years: "China and Japan are very close, and if there are any difficulties, the two countries can help each other." The Japanese side has been working in China with such a feeling. I believe that the Chinese side has the same idea to cooperate with us. ”
3.66 trillion yen (about 255.1 billion yuan), which is the total amount of Japan's ODA projects with China in 43 years.
Among them, loans to Chinese yen reached 331.65 million yen, non-reimbursable assistance was 157.6 billion yen, and technical assistance such as the dispatch of Japanese language teachers was 185.8 billion yen. Regarding the yen loan, the final repayment period in China is 2047.
China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing, Capital Airport Terminal 2; Baosteel and Pudong airports in Shanghai; Second Yangtze River Bridge in Wuhan; The electrification and transformation of the Jingtai Railway are all Japanese aid projects in the past. In recent years, the reconstruction after the Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan Province, nursing care training under the aging society, and air pollution prevention and control projects have also been participated by the Japanese side.
China-Japan Friendship Hospital
Japan's ODA for China began with a visit to China in December 1979 by then-Prime Minister Masahiro Ohira. In order to dispel the concerns of the outside world, Daping Zhengfang issued the "three principles" of ODA to China at that time: First, do not provide military-related assistance and cooperation; Second, projects with Asian and African countries, especially ASEAN countries, will not be affected; Third, Japan-China relations are not exclusive, but are coordinated with other developed countries.
The first Sino-Japanese cooperation project is scheduled for the Shanghai Baoshan Iron and Steel Plant (the predecessor of Baosteel Group), mainly to introduce technical equipment from Nippon Steel. After Baosteel introduced dry quenching coke technology from Japan, it became the first domestic enterprise to adopt this technology, and then spread the technology to all parts of the country, taking the first step for China's crude steel production to surpass Japan in 1996 and rank first in the world.
Ma Shuping, a researcher at the Enterprise Research Institute of the Development Research Center of the State Council, once commented to Phoenix Weekly: "Japan introduced the most advanced coastal consistent steel production method to China at that time, which not only improved the production efficiency of Chinese enterprises, but also brought advanced business concepts, and changed the development mode of China's entire steel industry." ”
At that time, China showed strong interest in the industrial policy formulated by Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry (now the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry). Toshiya Tsugami, a Japanese scholar who had worked at the Ministry of Economics and Industry, explained to Phoenix Weekly that Japan's industrial policy at that time had the content of pre-war National Socialism remained, such as the integration of industrial groups, the unity of the people to achieve industry goals, and the formulation of a national general mobilization system.
Although Masahiro Ohira contributed to Japan's assistance to China, he did not fail to pessimistically see: "Now that the atmosphere is friendly, it seems to be very lively, and when China achieves rapid economic growth in 30 or 40 years, there will definitely be problems!" The result is a slur.
During this period, sensitive factors involving economy, trade, history, and Taiwan were constantly fermented during the "Baosteel Contract Modification Issue" in 1981, the "Textbook Issue" in 1982, the "Visiting Yasukuni Shrine Issue" in 1985, and the Guanghualiao Issue in 1987. Although the basic consensus reached by China and Japan and Japan's ODA policy towards China have not been shaken, political hidden dangers have begun to appear.
After 1989, some Japanese government personnel withdrew from ODA projects, but did not suspend their aid policies. In June 1992, then Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa formulated the "Japan ODA Outline", which deepened its political color. In August 1995, Japan froze all non-reimbursable assistance except humanitarian emergency and non-governmental assistance on the grounds that China conducted nuclear tests, and the amount of assistance plummeted from about 7.8 billion yen in 1994 to about 500 million yen. When China declared a moratorium on nuclear testing in 1996, much of the gratuitous aid gradually resumed.
The reversal of China's and Japan's national strength was gradually reflected in the early 21st century. From 1999 to 2000, when China's military expenditure exceeded 100 billion, the call for "ODA graduation theory with China" became higher in Japan. The debate over whether ODA projects should be halted or not, has not stopped. The Japanese ODA program was set at $1,400 in revenue, with Chinese average revenue reaching $1,090 in 2003 and reaching the upper limit in the next two or three years.
In the summer of 2004, Japan won the Asian Cup and China won the second place. In the same year, the Japanese Diet sent members of the National Assembly to China for a field trip, and then decided to terminate the part of the paid aid, the yen low-interest loan project. In 2005, the Japanese government officially announced that it would stop providing loans to China in 2008, but still retained the provision of technical cooperation to China focusing on energy conservation and environmental protection.
Until October 23, 2018, the Japanese side announced that the ODA project that has lasted for nearly 40 years with China will be completely completed within the year. During his visit to China, then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said: "In this process, Japan has moved forward with China through ODA and private investment. ”
At that time, Shinichi Kitaoka, then chairman of JICA, said in an interview with Phoenix Weekly: "If China feels that it can still find something worth learning from Japan, it can continue to cooperate." As it said, in March this year, JICA did not stop its cooperation with China due to the termination of the ODA project, but retained the Chinese office as the executive agency.
In March this year, JICA did not stop its cooperation with China due to the termination of the ODA project, but retained the Chinese office as the executive agency.
When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in January 2020, JICA participated in the first Japanese charter of aid supplies. 15,000 masks, 50,000 pairs of gloves, 8,000 protective goggles, 2,000 medical masks, and 50 sets of protective clothing were sent to Wuhan.
According to the initiative of "actively responding to the aging of the population" in the 2022 China Government Work Report, JICA is also cooperating with China on solving the problem of aging. "We have carried out talent training programs for elderly care in four regions, including Beijing, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shaanxi. Although the above projects have been completed, we are still helping organizations develop caregivers and facilitate the exchange of talents in this field. Sasaki shared, "For Japan, aging is an unresolved problem. We hope to continue to communicate with China to promote the solution of the aging problem. ”
"Regardless of the relationship between the two countries, my duty is to maintain economic and trade cooperation"
In recent years, arguments such as "Japanese enterprises reduce their dependence on China" and "Japanese enterprises withdraw from China" have repeatedly appeared on the Internet. However, according to the "White Paper on China's Economy and Japanese Enterprises 2022" released by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in July this year, in the survey on the direction of business development in the next one to two years, 40.9% of Japanese companies answered "expanding" their business in China, an increase of 4.3 percentage points over the previous year; only 3% to 4% plan to scale back their business or leave the Chinese market. Compared with 2020, when the performance of Japanese companies in China has fallen into a trough due to the new crown epidemic, the performance of Japanese companies in China in 2021 has also recovered significantly.
Takashima Ryuyu, director of the Beijing representative office of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and general representative of Northeast Asia, believes that the main reason why Japanese companies have become active in Southeast Asia in recent years is that China is no longer a country with cheap labor. "But because the Chinese market is still large and important, Japanese companies will still prioritize China when investing."
Takashima Ryuyu, Director of the Beijing Representative Office of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and General Representative of Northeast Asia
Takashima first came to China in 2005 and worked in the Beijing office of the Japan-China Economic Association. The Japan-China Economic Association was established in November 1972 to promote economic and trade cooperation between the two countries and promote friendly relations between the people. At that time, Takashima was mainly responsible for helping Japanese companies enter China and connect with government departments across China.
He still remembers the scene when he attended the first China-Japan Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection Comprehensive Forum in Tokyo in 2006. Wang Yi, then Chinese ambassador to Japan, mentioned in his speech: "Under the difficult situation of political relations between China and Japan, the two sides will strengthen cooperation in the field of energy conservation and environmental protection, which will help the people of the two countries to further enhance the consensus on the interdependence and solidarity between China and Japan, strengthen the common interests of the two countries, and thus provide new impetus for the improvement and stable development of Sino-Japanese relations." ”
During the three-day forum, more than 280 Chinese representatives and more than 500 Japanese representatives conducted extensive exchanges in the fields of energy conservation and environmental protection. In the end, China and Japan signed a number of cooperation agreements. Since then, "introducing energy-saving and environmental protection technologies to China" has become one of Takashima's important tasks.
Trade between the two countries began before the normalization of diplomatic relations in 1972. In 1962, led by Chinese representative Liao Chengzhi and Japanese representative Tatsunosuke Takasaki, the two countries signed the "People's Memorandum of Understanding between China and Japan for Development" (hereinafter referred to as the "LT Agreement", named after the initials of their surnames).
In 1962, led by Chinese representative Liao Chengzhi and Japanese representative Tatsunosuke Takasaki, the two countries signed the "People's Memorandum of Understanding between China and Japan."
"The reason why we were able to sign the 'LT Agreement' was because in the context of the times, there was a necessity for Japan-China economic and trade cooperation." Takashima explains, "At that time, Japan was in great need of China's coal and iron ore resources, while China needed Japanese industrial products and technologies. Both countries need the economic resources of each other's countries. ”
"Japan-China economic cooperation has embarked on the path of rapid development, or it began with China's reform and opening up. Mr. Deng Xiaoping's visit to Japan in 1978 was an important opportunity. Takashima recalled to Phoenix Weekly, "This is the first time that a Chinese national leader has visited Japan. I was 14 years old when he visited Japan, and I saw him on TV riding on the Shinkansen. For the Japanese, Mr. Deng Xiaoping was a household name and was particularly respected. ”
Since then, at the invitation of Deng Xiaoping, many Japanese companies have invested in China and made great contributions to promoting China's economic development.
In the past 50 years, the bilateral trade volume between China and Japan has basically maintained a growth trend, but in 2012, it was affected by the Japanese government's "island purchase" storm, and then experienced negative growth for five consecutive years; Japanese direct investment in China also experienced negative growth for four consecutive years after 2013 until a reversal in 2017.
According to Chinese statistics, the total trade between China and Japan in 2021 was US$371.4 billion, an increase of 17.1% year-on-year. Japan has been China's second largest trading partner for many years. According to Japan's statistics, the trade volume between China and Japan reached 391.4 billion US dollars last year, an increase of 15.1% year-on-year.
"I am not sure whether economic and trade relations will remain a stabilizer of Japan-China relations in the future." But no matter how the relationship between the two countries changes, my duty is to maintain the cooperative relationship between Japan and China. Takashima admitted, "No matter what era we need economic and trade cooperation, and my job is to help enterprises of the two countries cooperate." ”
Takashima has been engaged in Sino-Japanese economic exchanges and cooperation in recent years. What made him sigh is that since China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, the investment environment for Japanese companies in China has undergone great changes. The area where he felt most deeply was intellectual property protection. "At the beginning of 2000, although Chinese companies began to have the idea of intellectual property protection, many people still did not realize the importance of this issue. But in recent years, I have seen the determination and perseverance of large enterprises such as Alibaba and Tencent to protect intellectual property rights. ”
In addition, China's first Anti-Monopoly Law was implemented in 2008, making market competition more fair. "However, after the new crown epidemic, the regulations on epidemic prevention and control have imposed certain restrictions on the development of Japanese enterprises in China. In order for enterprises to operate better, we hope that China can give more space in the future. Takashima said.
In addition, the Chinese government officially announced in 2020 that it will achieve carbon peak by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. According to the "White Paper on China's Economy and Japanese Enterprises in 2022", more than 60% of Japanese companies in China have taken or are considering taking measures to achieve this goal. Takashima revealed: "Some Japanese companies in China are also using their own technology to help Chinese companies achieve carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. For them, this aspect of the work has become a necessity. ”
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) came into force on January 1 this year, marking the official launch of the world's largest free trade area. In the past year, JETRO, where Takashima is located, has also been popularizing how Japanese small and medium-sized enterprises can use the agreement to invest and cooperate in countries such as China and ASEAN.
For enterprises, the biggest benefit of the RCEP after it comes into effect is the reduction of import costs and the increase in export opportunities brought about by the reduction of tariffs. According to the agreement, 86% of Japan's exports to China will achieve zero tariffs, and 88% of Chinese exports to Japan will also enjoy zero-tariff treatment. According to Japanese government estimates, RCEP is ultimately expected to make 91.5% of Japan's industrial goods tax-free, increase gross domestic product (GDP) by 2.7%, and bring more economic benefits than other trade agreements that Japan has signed so far.
At the end of the interview, Takashima did not forget to "plant grass" and said, "Do you know that the pop-up store jointly created by Shiseido and the Internet popular bookstore Tsutaya Bookstore has landed in the square in front of the Wangfujing Department Store in Beijing?" He excitedly said that last April, LaLaport, a popular shopping center in Japan, chose to open a store in Shanghai for the first time out of the sea, and AEON Mall will also open stores across China, with the goal of building 29 shopping malls in China by 2025." In the past, Japanese companies' investment in China was mainly based on manufacturing. Now, they are looking for new business opportunities. ”
(Intern Qi Menghan also contributed to this article)