A tale of two Asian neighbors

Sino-Japanese ties, despite being considered one of the most important bilateral relations by both countries, have gone through many ups and downs in the past few decades. After some improvements in bilateral relations in 2006 and 2007, the collision between a Chinese fishing trawler and Japan Coast Guard ships last year soured relations again.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's two-day visit to China came at a time when Japan is making efforts to maintain its alliance with the US and at the same time trying to reinforce economic and political relations with China.

On the economic front, though some Japanese felt a sense of loss when China surpassed Japan as the second largest economy in the world, others were not that affected because they had anticipated it. In fact, with the US economy struggling, Japan should see China's economic growth as a leading force stimulating regional economic growth and hope it creates more opportunities for Japan, for example, in tourism.