Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Takeshi Iwaya was invited to visit China on Wednesday. Last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Peru, and the two sides agreed to work together to comprehensively advance the strategic relationship of mutual benefit between China and Japan and endeavor to build a constructive and stable China-Japan relationship fit for the new era. When meeting Iwaya on Wednesday, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said China is willing to work with Japan to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries. Later, at the second meeting of High-Level Consultation Mechanism on People-to-People and Cultural Exchanges between China and Japan attended by Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Chinese Foreign Minister, and Iwaya, China and Japan reached 10 important consensuses, including vigorously promoting youth exchanges and visits and introducing more facilitation measures to promote mutual visits of tourists.
This is not only Iwaya’s first visit to China since he became foreign minister, but also the first China visit by a Japanese foreign minister since April last year when Yoshimasa Hayashi paid a visit to China. Compared with the past, Japanese public opinion has special expectations for Iwaya. The current China-Japan relations are in a critical period of improvement and development. After the Ishiba administration took office, the policy toward China emphasized more on pragmatic cooperation, and a series of bilateral dialogues between China and Japan have been gradually resumed. Ishiba claimed himself as a disciple of former Japanese prime minister Kakuei Tanaka, who sent then-foreign minister Masayoshi Ohira to visit China to promote the normalization of bilateral relations. It is clear that the Japanese side has taken Iwaya’s visit to China as an opportunity to improve relations between the two countries.
It is not by chance that “constructive” and “stabilization” have become the consensus between the two countries during this period. In the past few years, China and Japan have suffered a difficult period rarely seen since the normalization of bilateral relations, causing great damage to the exchange and mutual trust between the two countries at all levels. The lesson is profound, and there has been a lot of reflection on this from the Japanese side.
Before his visit to China, Iwaya mentioned in an interview that China is a very important and eternal neighbor of Japan. He said that Japan has already made statements on historical issues in the past, and it is important to carry on the spirit of those statements. It is inappropriate to keep mentioning a potential invasion of the island of Taiwan, he noted. All of these statements clearly point to something that deserves recognition. In addition, some voices in Japan have also called for a change from the policy of “taking sides with the US” back to the track of “Japan-US alliance and Japan-China coordination.” The Ishiba administration’s practical actions to promote the improvement and development of China-Japan relations have a public opinion basis.
More importantly, the true foundation for the stable development of China-Japan relations has always been rooted in the practical need for exchanges and cooperation between the two countries and even the region. This is fundamental. One detail is worth reflecting on: After China decided to implement unilateral visa-free entry trials for ordinary passport holders from Japan, on December 1, a Japanese tourist who was traveling in Laos immediately changed his itinerary and took the China-Laos Railway to China, becoming the first Japanese tourist to enter China under the visa-free policy via the China-Laos Railway. This was achieved against the backdrop of China’s ongoing efforts to expand its “visa-free circle.”
For Japan, this means being included in the “fast track” for regional integration development. In recent days, Japanese media reported that Toyota plans to establish a new electric vehicle factory in China. A blue book on the Japanese economy jointly released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and other institutions this month also shows that Japan’s major companies are choosing to remain in China to operate, expecting to continue profiting from China rather than considering withdrawal or downsizing. This proves that “decoupling and supply chain disruption” is not in line with the reality of China-Japan relations, and any attempt to promote it between China and Japan is unlikely to come to realization.
In China-Japan interactions, China often focuses on the directional aspects of bilateral relations, while the Japanese public opinion tends to focus on consultations and solutions to specific issues. This difference does not necessarily lead to contradictions. At the same time, China and Japan are two critically important countries in the region, and the stable development of their relations holds significant importance for both countries, the region, and even the world.
The principles and directions established by the four political documents between China and Japan, such as the consensus that the two countries should be “cooperative partners rather than each other’s threats,” form the “foundation” of China-Japan relations. Solving one or two specific differences between China and Japan may not be difficult, but the thickness and quality of the “foundation” will determine how high and stable the friendship between the two countries can be. The perspective on and understanding of the bilateral relationship should not be short-term and utilitarian, but rather long-term. If a correct mutual understanding can be established and the right direction for China-Japan relations is grasped, it will be easier to solve some specific problems.
China’s policy toward Japan has been consistent and stable. The key for future relations will be whether Japan can continue to implement its current pragmatic policy toward China, steadily and continuously, and seize this critical period for developing bilateral relations to build mutual trust.
Both the Chinese and Japanese people have the proverb “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” and for both countries, now is the right time for China-Japan relations to improve and develop.
GT
