Leaders of China and Japan Commit to Rebuild Relations

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Leaders of China and Japan Commit to Rebuild Relations

China’s Hu and Japan’s Fukuda come together at a summit in Tokyo.

JOINT STATEMENT: In their first high-level meeting since 1998, leaders of China and Japan agreed to hold regular summits focused on recovering and improving national relations.

by Hilary Watts
Informify Staff Writer
May 8, 2008

China’s President Hu Jintao and Japan’s Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda met Wednesday at a joint press conference in Tokyo, Japan. There they committed to meet together at an annual summit to discuss rekindling ties between the two nations.

The relationship between China and Japan has been tense since before World War II, when Japan invaded much of China. Now the countries’ leaders want to work together.

What Were Their Bygones?

China and Japan have tried to work together before, but to no avail until now. The last Chinese president to visit Tokyo was Jiang Zemin in 1998. When Jiang rebuked the nation for its past aggressiveness toward China during wartime, Japan’s angry response made Chinese leaders reluctant to return.

In 2001, China blocked high-level contact with Japan for five years. Why? To protest former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s regular visits to a Tokyo shrine. The Shinto shrine honors Japanese soldiers and others killed in battle, including convicted World War II war criminals, which offends the Chinese.

Money Matters

Now, as Asia’s largest economies, Japan and China depend on each other:

China has replaced the United States as Japan’s number one trading partner.
Bilateral trade between Japan and China increased by 12% last year to $236.6 billion.
Beijing is counting on Japan to help China ease regional tension and move into a greater global role.

Some analysts say the growth in their economic relationship has propelled the two nations toward cooperation.

Sources

"Chinese, Japanese Leaders Agree to Hold Regular Talks " (VOA News, 5/7/08)

"Landmark China-Japan deal agreed " (BBC News, 5/7/08)

"Japan, China agree to regular summits on landmark visit " (AFP, 5/7/08)

Question for Readers:

Do you think China and Japan will be able to forget the past and unite their nations?

Up For Discussion

At annual summits alternating between the two countries, China’s President and Japan’s Prime Minister intend to talk about the following:

global warming
Yasukuni Shrine Memorial to dead Japanese soldiers, which China protests as glorifying war criminals
exploration rights to lucrative gas fields in the East China Sea
disputed claims to ownership of Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands
pesticide-poisoned Chinese-made dumplings that made about 10 Japanese people sick

“China and Japan have no other way but to take the path of peace, friendship and cooperation as neighbors and countries with significant influence to Asia and the world.”