Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso yesterday called for Tokyo and Beijing to unite in facing the world’s environmental and economic challenges, seeking also to calm fears about China’s military power.
In a wide-ranging speech in Beijing, Aso floated the prospect of a free-trade deal and joint peace-keeping operations, and said closer ties between the historic rivals was the only way forward.
“Cooperation between Japan and China is a pre-condition for taking advantage of Asia’s potential as the growth center for the 21st century,” Aso told a gathering of business leaders from both nations.
Aso, who was due to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) later yesterday before heading home, talked about working together to overcome the “once-in-a-century global economic and financial crisis.”
“It’s extremely important that Japan and China, the world’s second and third-largest economies, keep in step with each other,” he said when talking about tackling the economic downturn.
As evidence of the benefits of a closer partnership, Aso pointed to a major steel factory in Beijing that he visited yesterday, which is using Japanese technology to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
“I saw an admirable case of realizing both an improvement in ... energy conservation and steel production through a Japan-China joint project,” he said.
“China is the world’s largest crude steel producer, while Japan has the world’s most advanced environmental and energy-conservation technologies,” he said.
“Today I hardened my convictions that by uniting the two factors, Japan and China can make a great leap forward,” he said.
Aso also raised the highly sensitive issue of China’s rising military might, which has caused concerns in Japan, the US and its allies amid complaints about what they say is a lack of Chinese transparency.
“We know that China has a resolution to contribute to building a peaceful and prosperous world,” he said.
“I expect that China’s behavior will be in line with this resolution, thereby causing no worries or anxiety in the region and in the world,” he said.
Aso urged the audience to think outside the box in devising ways for the two nations to work more closely.
“I think we can discuss the possibility of a Japan-China economic partnership agreement [free-trade deal],” he said.
“It is also important to discuss cooperation in the area of peace-building, such as arms reduction and non-proliferation, peace-keeping operations, anti-piracy and sea lane defense,” he said.
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