#精品长文创作季#
Due to problems left over from history and in the context of economic globalization, Sino-Japanese relations have always been in a complex mode of getting along. The Japanese government recently released the 2024 Diplomatic White Paper, which explicitly reaffirms the "mutually beneficial strategic relationship" between China and Japan. Attempts to strengthen cooperation with China have been met with a response from China!
As far as Japan is concerned, why did it suddenly reaffirm the Sino-Japanese "strategic relationship of mutual benefit"? What exactly does the Sino-Japanese "strategic relationship of mutual benefit" mean? As international competition becomes increasingly severe, in what direction will Sino-Japanese relations develop in the future?
1. The complex relationship between China and Japan
Throughout history, Sino-Japanese relations were very friendly at first. During the Tang Dynasty in China, there was a good exchange of Jianzhen Dongdu. However, the history of modern wars has brought China and Japan to complete opposites, and even exchanges after the founding of the People's Republic of China have been very restrained.
In the context of economic globalization, economic benefits and economic cooperation have become the first priority for all countries to seek development, so China and Japan established diplomatic relations in 1972.
In the early days of opening up, Japan was a very important foreign trade partner. With the advantage of the United States building factories in Japan in the last century, Japan's memory chips, consumer batteries, automobiles and other industries are at the forefront of the world. It has an important boost to the development of China's commodity industry.
Not only that, China has been full of business opportunities since opening up. A large number of Japanese companies smelled the economic benefits and brought huge sums of money to China's coastal cities to invest. Assisted the mainland to realize the early market model construction.
Despite the frequent economic exchanges and close trade exchanges between China and Japan over the years, China and Japan have always been undecided as to who will lead the way. For Japan, it wants to gain access to China's vast commodity market and realize the dumping of consumer goods by Japanese companies.
As for China, it wants to use Japanese funds to realize the rise of domestic enterprises and use the successful experience of Japanese enterprises to build China's commodity industry market.
It was not until 2008 that the Chinese leader visited Japan. China and the Japanese government reached an agreement on cooperation and signed the "Sino-Japanese Joint Statement on Comprehensively Promoting Strategic Mutually Beneficial Relations".
It clearly states that China and Japan will strengthen "strategic and mutually beneficial cooperation" and that China will take the lead in future cooperation. Economic cooperation should be carried out in line with the essence of "friendly diplomacy, people-to-people diplomacy, and peaceful diplomacy".
At the heart of this principle is to clarify the role of economic cooperation between the two countries in promoting their economies. Ignoring the factors left over from history, we should seek closer cooperation in the long term in economic development.
Japan's reaffirmation of the "strategic mutually beneficial relationship" between China and Japan is due to the compromise policy chosen by Japan in order to seek better economic development in the future under the current special international background. So what is the significance of Japan's reaffirmation of the "strategic mutually beneficial relationship" between China and Japan?
2. Japan reaffirms the profound meaning of the "strategic mutually beneficial relationship".
Japan's reaffirmation of the core of the "mutually beneficial strategic relationship" between China and Japan is due to the fact that Japan is currently in a very awkward situation. Although Japan is still one of the world's leading economies, its future is already in shambles.
The most serious problem facing Japan at present is undoubtedly the problem of insufficient production capacity of its own commodity economy and the turbulent foreign trade industry. As early as the end of the last century, Japan relied on the advantage of Western companies to build factories in the country. It was once the world's electronic technology production center, and its economic aggregate ranked second in the world, second only to the United States.
But with the gradual rise of China, Japan's industrial advantage has disappeared. Compared with Japan, Chinese mainland has more extensive geological resources, cheap labor, and more abundant hydropower resources.
China has a global reputation for its manufacturing market, surpassing Japan's economy in 2010, and is now three times the size of Japan.
A large number of Japanese foundry companies have begun to be replaced by Chinese mainland OEM products, such as memory chips, consumer batteries, etc., and the current mainland export volume has surpassed Japan. For example, the automobile industry, which is regarded as the "foundation of the country" by Japan, has also declined with the rapid development of new energy in the mainland.
In 2023, China's total overseas auto exports will surpass Japan's, breaking Japan's seven-year monopoly at the top of the total auto export list. The Japanese economy is currently under infinite pressure from the "changes in a century", so it needs to find a way forward for future development.
For Japan today, the importance of China's foreign trade market is growing. At present, Japan's investment in China has exceeded 120 billion US dollars, and there are more than 30,000 Japanese enterprises in China. Chinese mainland is an indispensable force for Japan's economy to maintain its good development momentum.
In addition, the trade volume between China and Japan accounts for 20% of Japan's total trade. As Japan's domestic goods industry gradually weakens, the demand in the Chinese market is even more important for Japan.
Despite the importance of the Chinese market to Japan, there are obstacles to Japan's operation in the Chinese market, mainly due to political factors.
One of the most striking aspects is the legacy of China and Japan. Previously, Japanese products sold well in China because of the lack of competitiveness of local competitors. Japanese products have a quality advantage, which is why they are favored by the audience.
However, as the quality of Chinese goods and Japanese manufacturing gradually decreases, Chinese goods that occupy preferential prices will have a serious impact on Japanese imports.
On the political front, China and Japan have been increasingly involved in disputes in recent years. For example, since 2012, the dispute between China and Japan over the Diaoyu Islands has been emerging. It is destined to cast a shadow over the prospects of Sino-Japanese economic cooperation.
In addition to this, the problems between China and Japan are also a manifestation of the competition between China and the United States.
The United States has a close relationship with Japan, and the United States has been the biggest contributor to Japan's economic rise after World War II. With the rise of China's economy, the United States is full of crisis awareness about China. Therefore, the island chain plan was instigated to limit the further improvement of China's comprehensive national strength.
The so-called island chain plan is to unite the Philippine Islands, the Ryukyu Islands, and the Japanese Islands. Build a community of interests and form a trend of encirclement of the Asian continent.
In addition, the United States has also imposed restrictions on China's new energy electric vehicles, semiconductor chips and other industries, and asked Japan, South Korea and other countries to assist.
Japan followed in the footsteps of the United States and terminated the export of lithography machines, photoresists and other parts to China, and obeyed the requirements of the United States.
Under the competition between China and the United States, Japan, as a supporter of the United States, will inevitably suffer from the exclusion of the Chinese market. In turn, it will affect its foreign trade with the Chinese mainland market. In order to avoid economic losses caused by the deterioration of Sino-Japanese relations, Japan has repeatedly emphasized the "strategic mutually beneficial relationship" between China and Japan.
In the face of Japan's emphasis on "strategic mutually beneficial relations," how does the mainland respond? In what direction will Sino-Japanese trade exchanges develop in the future?
3. Prospects for the future development of trade between China and Japan
Although Japan's reaffirmation of the Sino-Japanese "strategic mutually beneficial relationship" seems to be sincere, the mainland's attitude toward Japan is very indifferent, and it has poured cold water on Japan's overtures.
The reason for its indifferent attitude is that Japan has fully demonstrated the essence of double standards in the face of China and the United States. During his visit to the United States, the Japanese prime minister held in-depth talks with US leaders and even delivered a speech in the US Congress.
In his speech, the Japanese prime minister made it clear that the crumbling of China is "the biggest threat from outside". He has repeatedly emphasized its importance in confronting China, and its purpose is nothing more than to gain the attention of the United States. Relying on U.S. financial subsidies to counter the take-off of China's economic market.
In addition, the Japanese prime minister frequently appears at the trilateral summit of the United States, Japan and the Philippines. The Philippines has been at odds with the mainland over the issue of the Nansha Islands, and the mainland has given a clear warning to Marcos. Three lines are drawn for it, and violators will be attacked by the mainland.
At this time, Japan was undoubtedly siding with the Philippines in its dealings with the Philippines. However, they still want to gain the favor of the mainland by virtue of the so-called "strategic mutually beneficial relationship" between China and Japan, and they want to eat the benefits of both sides. Therefore, the mainland naturally responded indifferently to Japan's "overtures" and poured cold water on it.
Although Japan is abiding by the directives of the United States, its future development is always uncertain, and the future of the country can be described as uncertain.
Now that the U.S. presidential election is approaching, the competition between Biden and Trump is fierce. Although Biden advocates a tripartite alliance between the United States, Japan and the Philippines, no one has a definite answer as to what will happen to the mess Biden leaves behind if Trump takes office.
The second is that Sino-US relations have eased. Not long ago, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen expressed her friendship during her visit to China, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also plans to visit China in the near future. The reason behind this is that Chinese goods are very important to the U.S. market, and the U.S. may change its attitude toward China.
At this time, if Japan continues to interact closely with the Philippines, it will lose the goodwill of the mainland. In the future, the foreign trade industry and economic development will be inhibited.
As a result, Japan has reached a crossroads in its national development, and carelessness could lead to an economic crisis. The mainland, on the other hand, has responded to all changes with the same attitude and calmly responded to the changing attitude of the United States and Japan.
epilogue
Japan is a political competitor to China, but economically it is heavily dependent on the Chinese market. In order to ensure the healthy development of the economy, it reaffirmed the "strategic mutually beneficial relationship" between China and Japan and made a gesture of goodwill to China!
On the surface, he showed goodwill to China, but behind the scenes, he criticized China in the US Congressional session, and China responded to Japan's overtures with a cold face.
What do you have to say about Japan's purpose of reaffirming the "strategic mutually beneficial relationship" between China and Japan? What direction do you think Sino-Japanese trade will develop in the future? Welcome to leave a message in the comment area to discuss.