Mending Japan-China relations

日中関係改善の動き

    Their meeting came at a time when radical anti-Japanese protests were clouding the prospects for bilateral economic relations. At risk was not only tourism, with many Japanese canceling or postponing trips to China, but trade and investment between the two countries.

    The Koizumi-Hu talks, held on the sidelines of the second Asia-Africa summit, bring to mind a groundbreaking encounter that took place 50 years ago, in April 1955, between then State Minister Tatsunosuke Takasaki and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai during the first Asia-Africa summit in Bandung, Indonesia. There, Zhou invited Takasaki to visit China -- a visit that would lead to the opening of semigovernmental trade between the two nations and, eventually, to the normalization of relations in 1972.

    Takasaki and Zhou met under the shadow of the Cold War, as Japan and mainland China were in a technical state of war. Three years earlier, in 1952, Japan established diplomatic relations with Taiwan, formally known as the Republic of China. The two men, however, believed that the interests of Japan and China would one day dictate the development of a mutually dependent bilateral relationship.

    Fifty years on, Japan-China relations are, sadly, far from stable. During the past few weeks, large numbers of Chinese took to the streets in Beijing and other cities, shouting "Down with Japanese products" and "Patriotism is not guilty." Some of them turned violent, causing damage to Japanese diplomatic missions and commercial facilities. These events have highlighted the depth and breadth of anti-Japanese feelings in China. The absence of any official Chinese apology for the damage has spawned anti-Chinese feelings in Japan.

    Chinese protests against Japan's wartime abuses and its campaign for a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council have fallen on many deaf ears in Japan. Going to an extreme, some nationalist academics and intellectuals have called for the severance of diplomatic relations.

    Disputes over sovereignty and energy have strained bilateral relations. Both nations claim control over the Senkaku (Diaoyu in Chinese) Islands in the East China Sea. They are at odds over natural-gas development in the region. Beyond that, the two Asian powers increasingly see each other as military rivals. What seems most worrying is that, without remedial action on both sides, a cycle of mutual animosity might escalate.

    Beijing's refusal to apologize seemed to reflect a sense of vulnerability, a sense that the government and party might become the target of "patriotic" protests unless they dealt "properly" with the anti-Japanese campaign. That may be why the Chinese Foreign Ministry circulated an erroneous report that Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura had issued an apology for Japan's wartime aggression.

    China, in a successful effort to weather the crisis of communism brought on by the end of the Cold War, has stepped up market-oriented economic reform while drumming up nationalism. The demonstrations, however, have revealed that nationalism is a double-edged sword: It can either promote national unity or destroy internal stability.

    Patriotism, if pushed too far, may hurt diplomatic relations. But if Beijing makes light of popular sentiment, the Chinese people may brand it "weak-kneed" in its conduct of diplomacy. The test for the Chinese leadership is to balance domestic politics and diplomacy. The new policy of cracking down on unauthorized demonstrations, issued before Mr. Hu's meeting with Mr. Koizumi, would seem to suggest that Beijing is confident it can stabilize the situation.

    The silver lining behind cloudy Japan-China relations is the steady progress of economic integration, with bilateral trade exceeding that between Japan and the United States. Takasaki and Zhou probably never expected such an outcome, but their pledge of mutual cooperation -- the "Bandung spirit" of peaceful coexistence -- remains as valid as it was 50 years ago.

The Japan Times Weekly
April 30, 2005
(C) All rights reserved

      第2回アジア・アフリカ首脳会議に並行して行なわれた同会談は、1955年に当時の高碕達之助国務相と周恩来首相がインドネシア・バンドンで開いた会談を想起させる。この席で首相は高碕氏の訪中を要請、それが両国間の準政府間貿易協定、72年の日中国交正常化に結びつくことになった。

      しかし50年後の今、両国の関係は安定とは程遠い。日本の在中公館、商業施設などが反日デモで攻撃され、中国が事件について謝罪しなかったことが日本国内の反中感情をあおった。

      多くの日本人は、日本の戦時中の残虐行為、最近の国連安保理常任理事国入りを目指す動きに対する中国国内の抗議を無視しているばかりか、ナショナリストの知識人は、中国との断交を呼びかけている。

      尖閣諸島をめぐる領土問題、東シナ海のエネルギー開発問題も日中関係の緊張のもとだ。

      中国政府が反日デモに関して日本に謝罪しないのは、国民の「愛国的」抗議運動の標的にされるのを恐れているためだろう。

      中国は、冷戦終結に伴う共産主義の危機に瀕し、ナショナリズムを高揚させると同時に市場経済改革を推進してきた。だが、最近の反日デモは、ナショナリズムが国家統一にも、国の不安定化にもつながる諸刃の剣であることを示した。

      極端な愛国主義は外交関係を損なう可能性があるが、国民感情を無視すれば政府は外交面で弱腰、と批判されかねない。中国政府が、小泉・胡会談に先立ち無許可デモを取り締まったことは、事態沈静化への自信を示しているようだ。

      日中関係に陰りがでているなかで、両国間の貿易額は日米貿易額を凌いでいる。平和的共存をうたった「バンドン精神」は受け継がれていくべきだ。