At a time when Japan, the US, India and other nations are trying to reshape the geopolitical and strategic situation in the Indo-Pacific region in their favor, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to China at the end of last month took on huge significance.
It was the first visit to China by a Japanese prime minister since 2011. During the two-day visit, Abe expressed hopes for closer ties and a shift in bilateral relations from an age of “competition to cooperation,” and the two sides signed 12 agreements covering various bilateral interests.
While the two nations share historical ties, in the past decade — especially since Japan nationalized the rest of the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台列嶼), known as the Senkakus in Japan, in 2012 — relations between Tokyo and Beijing have witnessed unprecedented tensions.
However in the past few months, the two sides have taken calibrated efforts to iron out their differences and promote stronger ties. This became evident in May when Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (李克強) visited Japan. Abe’s visit marked yet another move in this direction, as the two sides held detailed discussions and agreed to take concrete steps toward expanding their engagement in areas of common bilateral and global interests.
In so doing, the economy, trade and commerce have taken a high priority. Abe was accompanied by a 500-strong delegation of Japanese businesspersons. Japan and China signed US$2.6 billion of business deals and touted their warmer ties.
They decided to allow into force a yen-yuan currency swap agreement to supply the currencies to Japanese and Chinese financial institutions with currency shortages. Beijing also agreed to consider relaxing import restrictions on food produced in Japan.
Certainly, the two nations have their own reasons to revisit their economic and trade policies. Japan, a leading Asian economy and a giant in technology know-how, is a natural choice for Beijing as it looks to lessen the blow of US trade tariffs on its economy in the US-China trade spat.
Similarly, the Chinese market is of huge importance to Japanese businesses following the high tariffs that the US imposed on Japanese steel and aluminum, while it is frustrated over US President Donald Trump’s trade stance on other sectors, including automobiles.
Abe’s visit also witnessed developments in the promotion of peace and security in the region. Abe and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) share the view that concrete progress is needed in maritime security, and that trust should be fostered between the Japanese and Chinese.
Before year’s end, the defense authorities of Japan and China plan to hold the first meeting of a maritime and arial communication mechanism.
Japan and China reaffirmed their adherence to a 2008 agreement regarding the development of resources in the East China Sea and committed themselves to a resumption of talks on the agreement’s implementation.
The two nations reached a consensus on conducting high-level exchanges between the coast guard authorities of Japan and China at multilateral forums, as well as exchanges between the China Maritime Police Academy and Japan Coast Guard Academy, and welcomed a visit by cadets from the China Maritime Policy Academy to Japan.
The two sides agreed to fully implement UN Security Council resolutions on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
Abe’s visit brought Japan-China ties back on track, but did not restore perfect harmony between them. Close security ties between Japan and the US continue to cause tension between Beijing and Tokyo.
Abe’s commitment to making Japan’s alliance with the US a cornerstone of its diplomacy and security in the Asia-Pacific region underscores the remaining divide between Beijing and Tokyo on how to shape the region’s geopolitical and strategic environment.
While Japan has expressed its desire to normalize bilateral ties with China, it is also — along with the US, Australia and India — a part of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, which intends to check China’s rise in the region.
In opposition to China’s Belt Road Initiative, Japan is working with India and other nations to develop their own Asia-Africa economic corridor.
Considering the developments of the past month, only time will tell to want extent China and Japan are able to achieve strong working ties.
Sumit Kumar is a Ministry of Foreign Affairs visiting fellow at National Chengchi University in Taipei and a research fellow at the Chennai Center for China Studies in India.
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