论文部分内容阅读
While visiting Bangkok shortly after his “goodwill” trip to Beijing， Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida called on the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations（ASEAN） to be united in response to China’s “assertiveness” in the South China Sea， according to a Kyodo News report.
Yet， during his stay in Beijing， Kishida said Japan is willing to strengthen mutual trust， control disputes， advance the bilateral relations initiated by former leaders of the two countries， and build a futurefacing Japan-China relationship.
The sharp contrast in Kishida’s attitude has greatly disappointed those who have strived to rebuild Sino-Japanese ties， leaving many wondering： Is this how Japan expects to achieve healthy bilateral relations？
In recent years， Japan has become adept at double-dealing when it comes to China. On the one hand， its top officials often call for highlevel talks between the two sides， portraying to the world the impression that Tokyo is willing to woo Beijing while Beijing lacks goodwill. Shinzo Abe’s administration， meanwhile， has continuously undermined China-Japan relations by downplaying Japan’s history of aggression， rewriting the country’s pacifist constitution to pave the way for military expansion， and creating a so-called “security diamond” alliance in the Asia-Pacific region as a ring of encirclement to contain China.
Days before his Beijing visit， Kishida said the trip’s purpose was to build a “new era”for China-Japan relations. Yet， just prior to that statement， Prime Minister Abe arranged for an offering to be made at the infamous Yasukuni Shrine， where several of Japan’s most notorious war criminals are enshrined. The many visits to Yasukuni in recent years by Abe and his cabinet members， despite objections from war-victim neighboring states， have offended China and South Korea， whose peoples suffered well-documented atrocities at the hands of Japanese invaders.
Furthermore， Japan’s superfluous involvement in the South China Sea territorial disputes is unwarranted. At the Group of Seven （G7） Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held in early April in Hiroshima， the host country hijacked the agenda to focus on tensions in the South China Sea despite the fact that none of the G7 members is directly concerned with the region’s territorial issues.
Despite such behavior， Beijing continues to exhibit a high degree of patience and tolerance toward Tokyo and looks forward to seeing the bilateral relationship change for the better. After all， the two countries have much to gain by working together instead of turning their backs on one another. As the world’s second largest economy， China fulfills an increasingly important role in global commerce and trade. And， as nations scramble to improve economic ties with China， any action that adversely affects those relations will be detrimental to the prospects of China’s trading partners.
As a typical export-oriented country， Japan’s economic reliance on China becomes deeper year by year. China has been Japan’s largest trading partner for nine consecutive years. Bilateral trade volume in 2015 accounted for 21.2 percent of Japan’s total foreign trade， a proportion that is only likely to increase in the future in tandem with China’s growing economic strength. Statistics also show that spending by Chinese tourists in Japan last year reached about 1.4 trillion yen（$14 billion）.
The deterioration in China-Japan relations over recent years， due to the Japanese Government’s failure to acknowledge and respond appropriately to China’s core issues of concern， has directly led to Japan dropping from its status as China’s largest trading partner for over 10 years to its current fourth-place position. The proportion of China-Japan trade in China’s total foreign trade has declined from 15.7 percent in 2003 to just 7 percent in 2015.
Given Japan’s currently sluggish economy and negative growth forecasts， a continuation of frosty relations with China is obviously not in Tokyo’s best interests. A thaw in China-Japan relations will not come about， however， through empty rhetoric and contradictory behavior； it requires Tokyo to take concrete， affirmative action.
The key problem behind the unstable relations between the two countries， as Foreign Minister Wang Yi has always noted， is Japan’s wrong perceptions about its history and China.
How can the problem be resolved？ During talks with his Japanese counterpart， the Chinese foreign minister outlined a four-point proposal. Wang mentioned that Japan should stick fast to the four political agreements between the two countries， face up to and reflect upon its history， take a more positive and healthy attitude to the growth of China， and cast aside its confrontational mentality.
In summary， to set itself on a path of harmonious coexistence with China， Japan needs to mend its ways and demonstrate sincerity.
Yet， during his stay in Beijing， Kishida said Japan is willing to strengthen mutual trust， control disputes， advance the bilateral relations initiated by former leaders of the two countries， and build a futurefacing Japan-China relationship.
The sharp contrast in Kishida’s attitude has greatly disappointed those who have strived to rebuild Sino-Japanese ties， leaving many wondering： Is this how Japan expects to achieve healthy bilateral relations？
In recent years， Japan has become adept at double-dealing when it comes to China. On the one hand， its top officials often call for highlevel talks between the two sides， portraying to the world the impression that Tokyo is willing to woo Beijing while Beijing lacks goodwill. Shinzo Abe’s administration， meanwhile， has continuously undermined China-Japan relations by downplaying Japan’s history of aggression， rewriting the country’s pacifist constitution to pave the way for military expansion， and creating a so-called “security diamond” alliance in the Asia-Pacific region as a ring of encirclement to contain China.
Days before his Beijing visit， Kishida said the trip’s purpose was to build a “new era”for China-Japan relations. Yet， just prior to that statement， Prime Minister Abe arranged for an offering to be made at the infamous Yasukuni Shrine， where several of Japan’s most notorious war criminals are enshrined. The many visits to Yasukuni in recent years by Abe and his cabinet members， despite objections from war-victim neighboring states， have offended China and South Korea， whose peoples suffered well-documented atrocities at the hands of Japanese invaders.
Furthermore， Japan’s superfluous involvement in the South China Sea territorial disputes is unwarranted. At the Group of Seven （G7） Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held in early April in Hiroshima， the host country hijacked the agenda to focus on tensions in the South China Sea despite the fact that none of the G7 members is directly concerned with the region’s territorial issues.
Despite such behavior， Beijing continues to exhibit a high degree of patience and tolerance toward Tokyo and looks forward to seeing the bilateral relationship change for the better. After all， the two countries have much to gain by working together instead of turning their backs on one another. As the world’s second largest economy， China fulfills an increasingly important role in global commerce and trade. And， as nations scramble to improve economic ties with China， any action that adversely affects those relations will be detrimental to the prospects of China’s trading partners.
As a typical export-oriented country， Japan’s economic reliance on China becomes deeper year by year. China has been Japan’s largest trading partner for nine consecutive years. Bilateral trade volume in 2015 accounted for 21.2 percent of Japan’s total foreign trade， a proportion that is only likely to increase in the future in tandem with China’s growing economic strength. Statistics also show that spending by Chinese tourists in Japan last year reached about 1.4 trillion yen（$14 billion）.
The deterioration in China-Japan relations over recent years， due to the Japanese Government’s failure to acknowledge and respond appropriately to China’s core issues of concern， has directly led to Japan dropping from its status as China’s largest trading partner for over 10 years to its current fourth-place position. The proportion of China-Japan trade in China’s total foreign trade has declined from 15.7 percent in 2003 to just 7 percent in 2015.
Given Japan’s currently sluggish economy and negative growth forecasts， a continuation of frosty relations with China is obviously not in Tokyo’s best interests. A thaw in China-Japan relations will not come about， however， through empty rhetoric and contradictory behavior； it requires Tokyo to take concrete， affirmative action.
The key problem behind the unstable relations between the two countries， as Foreign Minister Wang Yi has always noted， is Japan’s wrong perceptions about its history and China.
How can the problem be resolved？ During talks with his Japanese counterpart， the Chinese foreign minister outlined a four-point proposal. Wang mentioned that Japan should stick fast to the four political agreements between the two countries， face up to and reflect upon its history， take a more positive and healthy attitude to the growth of China， and cast aside its confrontational mentality.
In summary， to set itself on a path of harmonious coexistence with China， Japan needs to mend its ways and demonstrate sincerity.