Theauthorisaseniorresearcheronworldstudiesandanop-edcontributortoBeijingReviewThisyearmarksthe40thanniversaryofthesigningoftheChina-JapanTreatyofPeaceandFriendship.Overthepastfourdecades,people-to-peopleexchangesbetweenthetwocountrieshavedeepenedandeconomicrelationshavebecomecloserthaneverbefore.
Despitethetwistsandturnsinrecentyears,bilateralpoliticaltiesarebeginningtowarmatanimportantpointinhistoryasinternationalrelationsundergounprecedentedchanges,whichbringaboutgreatopportunitiesforthefuturedevelopmentoftheSino-Japaneserelationship.ItisthusnecessarytoreaffirmtheimportanceofChinaJapanrelations,reviewandanalyzepreviousexperiencesandlessons,andlookaheadtonewprospectsforbilateraltiesinthefuture.
Internationalorder
Therealsignificanceofanymajoreventininternationalpoliticscanonlybefullycomprehendedwhenviewedinthecontextofhistory.Similarly,weshouldobservecontemporarybilateralrelationsfromthisperspective,andtheirplaceinthepost-warinternationalordercanhelpusmoreaccuratelygrasptheirimportance.
China-Japanrelationsaredominatedbyseveralkeyfeatures.ChinaandJapanareneighboringcountriesseparatedonlybyanarrowstripofwaterwithalonghistoryoftraditionalfriendship.Thetwonationshavemaintainedclosecontactforcenturies,whiletheirculturalsimilaritiesareembodiedintheirbilateralrelations.ButthecrueltyofthewarofaggressiontheJapanesemilitaristswagedagainstChinainmoderntimesleftanindeliblemarkontherelationshipbetweenthetwopeoples.Inthenewera,thesharedresponsibilityforpeaceandprosperityinAsiaandtheworldatlargedemandsclosercooperationbetweenthetwomajoreconomies.
Thesecharacteristics,aswellastheirsharedhistory,determinethatthedevelopmentofChinaandJapaniscloselylinked.Additionally,regionalstabilityandprosperityrelylargelyonthedevelopmentofthesetwoeconomies.ThemaintaskforcontemporarySino-Japaneserelationsistofullyemphasizethepositivefactorsofthepastandtohealthewoundsofwarinabidtocollectivelybuildabetterregionalandinternationalorder.
Inthe1970s,ChinaandJapanbegantoextricatetheirbilateralrelationsfromtheshacklesplacedonthembytheJapanesewarofaggressionandlatertheColdWar.In1972,throughtheSino-JapaneseJointStatement,thetwocountriesputanendtotheabnormalstateofaffairsthathadexistedformanyyearsandnormalizedtheirrelations.ThesigningoftheChina-JapanTreatyofPeaceandFriendshipin1978validatedtheprincipleslaidoutintheSino-JapaneseJointStatement.Moreover,itconfirmedbasiclegalnormsbetweenthetwocountriesandininternationalaffairs.InadditiontotheconformitytotheFivePrinciplesofPeacefulCoexistence(mutualrespectforsovereigntyandterritorialintegrity,mutualnon-aggression,non-interferenceineachother鈥檚internalaffairs,equality,mutualbenefitandpeacefulcoexistence)andtheprinciplesoftheCharteroftheUnitedNations,thetwocountriesshouldintheirmutualrelationssettlealldisputesbypeacefulmeans,withneitherseekinghegemonyintheAsiaPacificregionorinanyotherregion,andwitheachopposedtoeffortsbyanyothercountryorgroupofcountriestoestablishsuchhegemony.Thescopeoftheseprinciplesisnotsolelyfocusedonbilateralrelations,butalsoonpeaceandstabilityinAsiaandtheworld,thesignificanceofwhichistoreaffirmtherulesofthemoderninternationalorderintheformofabilateraltreaty.
ThinkingabouttheTreatyitselfandthedevelopmentofChina-Japanrelationsthereafterfromthebroaderperspectiveofhumanhistoryandthepost-warinternationalorder,itiseasytogetlostbyfocusingonlyonbilateralrelations,whileignoringthelessonsofhistorymayendangerthedevelopmentofbilateralrelationsinthefuture.
Therefore,atthethresholdofanerawhenhumankindfaceshistoricchoices,itisofgreatsignificancenotonlyforthedevelopmentofbilateralrelationsbutalsofortheconstructionofajustinternationalordertoreinterpretthemeaningandroleoftheTreatytoday.
Ideologicalproblems
Growingeconomicinterdependenceandflourishingpeople-to-peopleexchangesbetweenChinaandJapaninthepastfourdecadesshouldhavespilledoverintomorecordialpoliticalrelations,butinreality,increasinglytensediplomacyhasdominatedtheshapeofbilateralrelationsandhasgivenrisetotheconceptof鈥渃oldpolitics,hoteconomy鈥漣nthepast20years.
Thepoliticalissuesinbilateralrelationsaremanifestedinthreekeyaspects:history,territory,andtheconstructionoftheinternationalorder.Complexastheseissuesare,theiroriginsalllieinideologicalconcepts.
Inthepursuitofnormalization,neithersidebecametooembroiledinhistoricalissues.Duetotheneedforastrategiccounterbalancetohegemony,bothsideschosetofocusonmaintainingnormalrelationsandfuturedevelopment.FormerJapanesePrimeMinisterKakueiTanaka鈥檚apologyforthewarmayhavebeendeemedunsatisfactorybytheChinesepeople,butitwasnonethelesshardwon.Japan鈥檚leftwingremainedstronginthe1970s,andthissetthestageforbothTanaka鈥檚apologyandforChinatobelievethattheJapanesesidewoulddeeplyreflectonitswartimecrimes.Butlater,right-wingconservativeforcesinJapangraduallytookcontrolofJapanesepoliticsandsetaboutundermininghistoricalfacts,humanmoralityandbasicinternationaljurisprudenceonhistoricalissues,leadingtothedeadlockinChina-Japanrelations.
TerritorialandmaritimedisputesalsoaroseprimarilyfromJapan鈥檚misconceptionabouthistoryandthenatureofinternationalrelations.Theattitudeofright-wingconservativestowardhistorydeterminedthattheywouldprotectthelegacyofJapan鈥檚imperialexpansiononterritorialissues,evidencedbyislanddisputeswithChinaandtheRepublicofKorea.
TheUnitedStates,outofstrategicnecessitytodivideotherregionsinordertosafeguarditsownhegemony,arbitrarilyadvocatedtheconceptof鈥渋nterestsfirst鈥漣ninternationalrelations.SomeinJapanbegantotalkoftheirrelevanceoftheChina-JapanfriendshipandputJapaneseinterestsatthecenterofthecountry鈥檚diplomacy.Againstthisbackdrop,JapanadoptedaseriesofmeasuresthataggravateddisputesandendangeredChina-Japanrelations.
Astheinheritorofthegenesofimperialpolitics,right-wingforcesinJapanstillclingtothethinkingof19th-centuryimperialism,pursuingdominantpowerorhegemonyasthecoreofregionalpoliciesandasatheorytobeappliedtointernationalaffairs.ChinaandJapanoncecooperatedcloselytopromoteregionalcooperationinEastAsiaandtobuildanEastAsiancommunityinthe1990s,butJapan鈥檚ambitiontotaketheleadmadesuchaprojectfraughtwithdifficulty.
FacedinthenewcenturywiththeglobalstrategyoftheGeorgeW.BushadministrationandthesubsequentPivottoAsiastrategyproposedbyformerU.S.PresidentBarackObama,JapanchosetoseekregionaldominanceorhegemonybyfollowingthepracticesoftheUnitedStates.CollaboratingwiththeUnitedStatestosuppressChinabecameapriorityindiplomacy,andSino-Japaneserelationswerecaughtinatrapofstrategicconfrontation.
ChineseandJapanesestudentsholdsignlanguageexchangeactivitiesataschoolforthehearingimpairedonMay19inNanjing,eastChina鈥檚JiangsuProvinceXINHUAPeaceandprosperity
ImprovementsintheChina-Japanrelationshipresultontheonehandfromtheawakeningofallpartiestotheimportanceofbilateraltiesfollowingrecentyearsofstalemate,whileontheotherhandtheyarethedirectconsequenceoftheprotectionistAmericaFirstpolicyoftheDonaldTrumpadministration,whichhasdamagedtheShinzoAbeadministration鈥檚confidenceinWashingtonandawokenconservativestotherealitythatthecontainmentofChinaisnotconducivetoJapan鈥檚ownsecu-rityanddevelopment.Whetherornotthisnewapproachcanultimatelybetranslatedintoanewunderstandingoftheglobalsituationasawholeremainstobeseen.
TheUnitedStates,asthelastglobalempire,hastakenAmericaFirstasitsbannerandaimstobuildaglobalimperialorderthatithopeswillensureitshegemonyforever.TherulesofthisordermustbecenteredonensuringtheabsoluteinterestsoftheUnitedStates,andthishasclearlyupsetthebalanceofthewholeworld.Simultaneously,however,Chinahassuggestedbuildingacommunitywithasharedfutureformankindtopromoteahumansocietyinwhichequality,mutualbenefitandcommondevelopmentinaccordancewiththepost-warUNCharterarethepredominantfeatures.
China鈥檚wisdomishighlyconsistentwiththebasictenetsoftheTreatysigned40yearsago.ThebestfutureforthedevelopmentofSino-Japaneserelationsisinstrengtheningcooperationandjointlypromotingregionalandworldpeaceandprosperity.Thetwosidesshouldalsoapproachthelong-termdevelopmentofbilateraltiesonthisbasis.
CopyeditedbyLaurenceCoultonCommentsto