Thaw chilly relationship with Japan
Fang Zhou  Updated: 2004-10-18 08:51

With no immediate signs to show China and Japan will soon break away from the long-standing awkward status quo in bilateral ties, characterized by many as "politically cold and economically warm," any major diplomatic personnel change by either side could have profound implications.

The recent appointment of Wang Yi, former deputy foreign minister, as Chinese ambassador to Japan has sent an unambiguous message that Beijing hopes to improve stalled bilateral ties with Tokyo.

A senior diplomat who can speak fluent Japanese and is familiar with Japanese affairs, Wang's appointment attests to the Chinese Government's great concern for its ties with Japan.

Since Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi took office in early 2001, China and Japan have suffered a terribly chilly relationship rarely seen in bilateral diplomatic history.

The two countries have not seen exchanges of mutual visits by State leaders in the previous three years. Even exchanges of ministerial-level officials between the two neighbours have been greatly reduced compared with the years preceding the Koizumi government. Worse, the number of people holding hostility towards each other is on the increase in the two countries.

All these are extremely unlucky for the two influential nations in the Asia-Pacific region and the two neighbours with highly interdependent economic ties.

For these, Koizumi's administration has taken unshirkable responsibilities.

Since taking office, Koizumi has paid an annual pilgrimage to the Tokyo-based Yasukuni Shrine, which honours 2.5 million Japanese war dead, among which are 14 convicted Class-A war criminals, such as World War II-era leader Hideki Tojo.

He has also said many times that he will continue visiting the shrine in the future despite strong opposition from victimized neighbours, including China. Both Koizumi's words and actions have offended the Chinese.

Under Koizumi's rule, a handful of Japanese rightist forces have made accelerated efforts to revise the country's historical textbooks in an attempt to embellish Tokyo's aggressive war in China during World War II.

From time to time, the Koizumi government challenges China's sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands and its ownership of the continental shelf in the East China Sea.

In a recent proclamation, a Japanese think-tank linked to Koizumi claimed that China serves as a threat to Japan.

A series of provocative words and actions by high-ranking officials in the Koizumi Government have not only caused deep misgivings among the Chinese as to whether Tokyo is sincere in its wishes to develop friendly ties with China, but has also caused dissatisfaction among some insightful Japanese.

Yukio Hatoyama, a top member of the opposition Democratic Party, recently criticized Koizumi's China diplomacy.

He said Koizumi's visits to the shrine are harming Japan's national interests and chilling its relations with China to the bone.

The current Sino-Japanese ties have worried people in both countries who want a reverse in trends which are in neither country's interest.

Ambassador Wang's appointment to Japan demonstrates China's wishes and its willingness to make a voluntary step forward to this end.

Certainly Wang, with all his competence and merits, will do what he can to mend and advance Sino-Japanese relations.

But Wang himself and the Chinese Government alone cannot steer Sino-Japanese ties out of deep waters if the Japanese side does not make a positive response to Beijing's good will and show real sincerity in digging up the roots that grow into a deterioration of bilateral ties.

(China Daily)

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