Voice from Tokyo

Yomiuri Shimbun: Can Beijing grow at 8% and prick housing bubble? 08/03

At the annual meeting of the National People's Congress--China's parliament--which opened Friday, the country's leaders said they will target growth of 8 percent in this year's gross domestic product.

China looks set to replace Japan sometime this year as the world's second-largest economy after the United States, based on total GDP. Beijing should take heed of that and manage its economy in an appropriate manner.

The Achilles' heel of the powerful Chinese economy is a property bubble covering the entire country. So-called "hot money"--speculative funds from Chinese living overseas--is greatly inflating house prices.

Redressing the economic disparity between urban residents and rural farmers remains a significant task to be addressed.

China said at the legislature meeting it will spend more than 800 billion yuan on developing agricultural infrastructure to improve the situations across the agricultural sector and in farming villages, and of farmers.

Sankei Shimbun 08/03

In recent years China has began to take more responsibilities and have more influence on world issues.

With uprising confidence out of fast growth in the economy, China has more says to international issues. Chinese leaders vigorously promote their views in the G20 summit and other international conferences. After the Beijing Olympics in 2008, more and more voices said the time of ‘conceal ability' has gone.

Of course, China also faces more responsibilities in the world community. China seems very cautious about this. Chinese diplomats always add a precondition ‘within the power of China' before talking about international contribution.

Japan Today: China positive toward resolving gas field dispute 08/03

China has a positive attitude toward addressing a dispute with Japan over gas field development in the East China Sea, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said Sunday.

Yang said the two countries should observe the spirit of a joint development agreement their governments struck in June 2008 and they should "work to foster favorable conditions for effective implementation" of the accord so as to turn the East China Sea into "a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation."

Japan has proposed the gas field row be resolved by launching a pact detailing how to implement the 2008 agreement. But China has yet to respond to the proposal, saying the two governments should continue talks on the issue.

Despite the gas field dispute, Yang said the world's second- and third-largest economies see "bright prospects" in developing a mutually beneficial strategic relationship.

Yang backed Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's call for creating an East Asian community for closer regional cooperation, saying China is "open and positive" about any initiative to spur "regional integration, deeper mutual political trust, practical cooperation and common development."