China's Independent Foreign Policy of Peace | Relations With Major Powers  |  Relations With Neighboring Countries  |Relations With Developing Countries| China's Military Diplomacy in 2003

Sino-Japanese Relations Japan is one of the important neighbors of China and Sino-Japanese relations occupy an important position in China's diplomacy, especially with neighboring countries.

In 2003, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi continued to visit the Yasukuni Shrine, where Class A war criminals are worshipped, despite strong opposition from home and abroad. On August 4, 2003, more than 40 people in Qiqihar in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province were injured by chemical weapons that were abandoned by Japanese troops at the end of World War II. The incident added to the complexity of bilateral relations.

But generally speaking, the setbacks in Sino-Japanese relations cannot overwhelm the actual progress of bilateral ties. Sino-Japanese relations continued progressing in 2003 despite difficulties. The relations between the two countries have experienced many fluctuations during the past 31 years since the normalization of bilateral diplomatic ties. In recent years, militarism and right wing forces have gained prominence in Japan, and Sino-Japanese relations show a clear characteristic of hot economic ties amid cold political links. In political and security areas, the two sides have little cooperation because of the high vigilance both sides employ against the other. On the contrary, economic exchanges between the two countries are booming and have made great progress every year.

Despite the turbulences in bilateral ties, Sino-Japanese relations have still made some improvement in 2003. First, the two countries still kept high-level contact. Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee Wu Bangguo visited Japan and he highly appreciated Sino-Japanese relations. Wu said Sino-Japanese ties have a good foundation after 30 years of development, featuring deepened interdependence, expanded cooperation and increasing mutual benefits. In the new century, the two sides should follow the principle of "looking upon history as a mirror and marching forward with an eye on the future," on issues of mutual concern, especially the historical problem and the Taiwan issue, Wu said. He added that the two countries should view bilateral ties from a strategic height, take a global perspective to develop bilateral friendship, deepen mutual understanding and increase mutual trust, to raise bilateral relations to a higher level.

Second, the two countries well solved some historical problems. The chemical weapons left by the Japanese army in China at the end of World War II number around 2 million, which severely threatens the life and security of Chinese people. After the August 4 mustard gas leakage incident in Qiqihar, the Chinese Government has negotiated on several occasions with the Japanese side, urging it to change its wrong attitude and speed up the process to resolve this sensitive problem. Steps are now being taken to bring the question onto the track of gradual settlement.

Third, trade and economic cooperation between China and Japan has been further enhanced. The bilateral trade volume in 2002 exceeded $100 billion, and Japan's actual investment in China amounted to $39.1 billion. In 2003, the bilateral trade volume exceeded the $130 billion. The tendency of Japanese enterprises moving their production bases to China is continuing and the economic interdependence between the two countries is further enhanced.

China and Japan also restored their military contact. Japanese defense chief Shigeru Ishiba visited China in September 2003. The two countries decided that Chinese and Japanese naval fleets would carry out their first exchange visit, which is a good beginning for establishing mutual trust.

At the same time, the coordination and cooperation between China and Japan has been further strengthened in regional and international affairs. Their cooperation in solving the Korean nuclear issue has drawn attention from the international community and has made progress.