By Feng Zhaokui
Now that China-Japan relations have warmed up somewhat, compared
with the situation during former Japanese prime minister Junichiro
Koizumi's tenure, what is the best way to get along with our
neighbor? What should we do to forge a Sino-Japanese relationship
that benefits both strategically?
While safeguarding national interests as the point of departure,
China's foreign policy should take into full consideration other
nations' interests, their strategic bottom line in particular.
The progress of Sino-Japanese ties is a process of interaction.
China's attitude toward Japan is largely dictated by Japan's
attitude towards China, and vice versa.
It should be noted that, in the statement issued at the end of
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's China visit last October, the
word "strategic" was used for the first time to describe
China-Japan relations.
Promoting the relationship between China and Japan goes beyond
the scope of mere bilateral affairs with its impact on the region
and the world. So the two countries are duty-bound to assure a
better bilateral relationship. In the course of bringing about the
East Asian commonwealth, neither China nor Japan should vie for
so-called leadership. It should be borne in mind that the world's
most successful economic commonwealth the European Union is not
unilaterally led by any one country.
Chinese diplomacy is orientated toward promoting economic
globalization with the goal of shared prosperity among all
nations.
Consequently, we should continue to advance China-Japan economic
ties, a vitally important link in economic globalization.
More cooperative projects, especially in the fields of industry
and information technology, are needed. This facilitates bringing
the complementary nature of the Chinese and Japanese economies into
full play.
The evaluation of economic cooperative projects should be based
on national interests and economic feasibility while political and
emotional factors should not be allowed to play a role.
At the same time, exchanges between different sectors and at
various levels should be promoted, particularly so-called
"non-governmental diplomacy".
The most influential factor in international relations boils
down to people. So, cultural and academic exchanges, a kind of
exchange between people's hearts and feelings, ought to be largely
promoted. These interflows serve to bring countries and peoples
closer to each other.
With regard to the seafloor resources in the East China Sea,
China and Japan should shelve their disputes and engage in joint
exploration.
If the two countries get into conflicts over the resources in
the region, it is like two children scrambling for the cup of milk
on the table. The result will be nothing but spilt milk.
In addition, the two parties should join hands in fighting
non-traditional threats to their security. Terrorism and
environmental damage are more devastating, dangerous and
proliferating more rapidly than traditional security threats.
Cooperation in these fields will constitute a strong strategic
foundation for China-Japan relations in the new century.
Japan's advanced technology and managerial expertise in energy
saving and environmental protection are of great importance to
China, which is shifting to green development from the traditional
growth model orientated exclusively to GDP.
With regard to historical questions, in particular Japanese
leaders' paying homage at the Yasukuni Shrine, we should, on the
one hand, look squarely at history and, on the other, actively
promote China-Japan relations.
Questions left by history can be resolved in the course of the
development of bilateral ties and exchanges between the two
peoples. We cannot afford to let historical questions delay our
addressing more urgent and imperative matters.
The Chinese government has long been opposed to Japanese
leaders' paying their respects at the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors
Japan's war dead including 14 Class A war criminals. However, the
Chinese government has also been stressing that the Japanese people
should be differentiated from a handful of militarists responsible
for launching aggressive wars. This is aimed at preventing unabated
hatred between the Chinese and Japanese nations.
However, former Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi
repeatedly paid visits to the war shrine, in defiance of opposition
from Japan's neighbors, including China and the Republic of Korea,
which fell victim to Japan's aggressive wars.
Koizumi's unreasonable conduct helped trigger emotional
conflicts between China and Japan. The Yasukuni Shrine made the
historical issue a political and diplomatic one. The thorny
question got increasingly more difficult to deal with and became a
detonator that could set off national feelings any time.
More and more Japanese, however, are showing their disapproval
of Japanese leaders' paying homage at the war shrine, out of
consideration of separation of religion from politics and
safeguarding Japan's own diplomatic interests.
Japanese politicians also want to find a solution to the
Yasukuni problem. This finds expression in the suggestion that the
war dead be worshiped separately.
China and Japan are neighbors. Neighbors hope to live in
harmony, rather than constantly quarrel. This is the simple wish of
the Chinese and Japanese public. Improvement of bilateral ties
represents the mainstream of public opinion in China and this is
fully reflected in the Chinese government's current Japan
policy.
The author is a researcher with the Institute of Japanese
Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
(China Daily January 25, 2007)
