中文
By Yan Zeyang
August 12, 2023 marks the 45th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship. Since 1978, exchanges and cooperation between China and Japan in various fields have made great progress. However, influenced by geopolitical factors, bilateral relations are facing new challenges. It is therefore necessary to review the spirit of this Treaty and seek to endeavor to jointly build a stable China-Japan relation.
China–Japan cooperation
China-Japan relations have experienced ups and downs in the past 45 years, but they have generally focused on peace, friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation, and have made significant progress in many aspects.
In terms of political consensus, before the signing of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the two countries, Beijing and Tokyo issued the Joint Statement of the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of Japan to normalize diplomatic relations in 1972; in 1998, the Japan-China joint declaration on Building a Partnership of Friendship and Cooperation for Peace and Development was issued; and a decade later, a joint statement on all-round promotion of strategic relationship of mutual benefit was released.
These four political documents have legally consolidated the political foundation of bilateral relations and become cornerstones of the development of cooperative relations between China and Japan. In 2014, the two sides reached a four point principle consensus, which provides important guarantees for the effective management of conflicts and differences between the two countries and the maintenance of the development of bilateral relations.
In terms of economic cooperation, the achievements have been remarkable, benefiting both sides and profoundly affecting the social progress of both countries. When diplomatic relations were normalized in 1972, the trade volume between the two countries was only about $1.1 billion, while in 2022, it reached around $357.4 billion.
Japan's accumulated investment in China has exceeded $120 billion. The different stages of development and industrial levels between China and Japan determine the structural opportunities for cooperation between the two sides. Therefore, the economic and trade cooperation between China and Japan will become increasingly broad.
Challenges between China and Japan
China-Japan relations are now at a critical crossroads, facing a much complex situation since the normalization of diplomatic relations.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) meets with Yohei Kono, president of the Japanese Association for the Promotion of International Trade, in Beijing, capital of China, July 6, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]
When analyzing challenges between China and Japan, the U.S. should be the one to blame. By indiscriminately smearing and exerting extreme pressure on Beijing, Washington does its utmost to force other countries, including Japan, to contain Beijing's development. For example, the U.S. has required Japan to implement export control measures for semiconductor manufacturing equipment against China this July.
Chips are an important field of China-Japan economic and trade cooperation, as well as a new economic growth point with enormous potential. In 2022, Japan exported more than 820 billion yen ($5.7 billion) of semiconductor manufacturing equipment to the Chinese mainland, more than 30 percent of Japan's total exports in this field. The export value of semiconductor manufacturing equipment from Japan to China is almost twice that of the United States to China.
In addition, a large number of Japanese enterprises have invested and built factories in China; Japanese semiconductor material related enterprises import a large amount of key raw materials from China and have established a huge procurement supply chain system in China. Japan's pursuit of the United States' containment of China will have adverse effects on economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.
Future China-Japan relations
No matter how the external environment changes, China-Japan relations should always uphold principles and spirit established in the four above-mentioned political documents between the two sides.
For example, the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship stipulates that China and Japan should develop lasting peaceful and friendly relations on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, resolve all disputes through peaceful means without resorting to force or threat of force; that neither party should seek hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region or any other region, and each should oppose the efforts of any other country or group of countries to establish such hegemony.
This is a solemn commitment between both parties and a legal obligation that should be fulfilled. Today, when we read this document, we find that the spirit of the treaty has become even more important in the new era, with strong pertinence in dealing with existing challenges.
We should take the commemoration of the 45th anniversary of the signing of the treaty as an opportunity to revisit the spirit of the treaty, abide by its provisions, and fulfill its obligations. The cooperation between both parties should be fair and open.
China-Japan friendly cooperation is important, and the two countries have broad cooperation potential in areas such as trade and investment, energy conservation and environmental protection, healthcare, elderly care, technological innovation, financial services and modern agriculture. The benefits of cooperation far outweigh confrontation.
Yan Zeyang, a special commentator for CGTN, is an assistant researcher at the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.
