Sino-Japanese ties at a '40-year low'

Sino-Japanese relations are now at their most strained since the resumption of diplomatic ties in 1972, researchers from China's best-known think tanks say.

"The wrong historical perspective and the tough diplomatic stance stubbornly adhered to by the Shinzo Abe administration have caused Japan's ties with China to move backward in the political area, which has also negatively affected ties in other fields," said Li Peilin, vice-president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, at a symposium in Dalian, Liaoning province, over the weekend.

"In the context of an increased possibility of a military conflict in the increasingly complicated situation in the East China Sea, the question of how to break the current stalemate and help Sino-Japanese relations improve remains a very urgent research topic for Chinese scholars," Li said.