CIAO DATE: 03/04

Sino-Japanese Relations Entering A New Stage- With the Trend of the Times, Broader Perspective as A Fresh Starting Point

Abstract

Relations between China and Japan have weathered 30 turbulent years since the normalization of diplomatic ties in 1972. This period of 30 years can be divided roughly in half into the first and second parts. From 1972 to the late 1980s, when the world had the bipolar polygenetic political and military structures, the two countries took down the barriers of the Cold War to restore normal exchanges between the states and their cooperative relationship achieved rapid development in areas of trade, finance and technologies. In the period between the end of the Cold War and the present day, the bilateral relationship has entered the new stage where friction and collaboration coexist as do competition and cooperation amid the progress in political multipolarization and economic globalization of the world.

During these three decades, developments of the Sino-Japanese Relations in all areas produced feracious results. The governments of the two countries signed a series of important documents one after another, including the Joint Communiqué of the Government of Japan and the Government of the People’s Republic of China, the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People’s Republic of China and the Japan-China Joint Declaration of Building a Partnership of Friendship and Cooperation for Peace and Development, establishing the basic norms for the development of good-neighborly and friendly relations and beginning to build a "partnership of friendship and cooperation for peace and development." According to relevant statistics, the value of trade between China and Japan reached US$89.2 billion in 2001, over 90 times of the 1972 level. The number of Japanese direct investment in China totaled 22,386 cases, amounting to US$44.17 billion on a negotiation basis and US$32.38 billion in actual investment. In 2000, a total of 1,665,000 people traveled between China and Japan, with a staggering 130-fold jump over 1972.

Up until today, the Sino-Japanese Relations have maintained the overall trend of constant development, paced by a relationship of friendship and cooperation. At the same time, however, with the times and the turn of events, the Sino-Japanese Relations in the 21st century are going to be confronted with new issues and challenges as well as a range of opportunities. In order to develop the bilateral relationship in a stable manner and deepen bilateral cooperation further under new historical conditions, how the Sino-Japanese Relations should be defined with a fresh perspective is the task both countries should jointly address and also an important strategic issue in China’s foreign policy from which it cannot afford to turn away.

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