Better ties show neighbors can manage their differences

In this year's Diplomatic Bluebook, the Japanese Foreign Ministry reaffirmed the continuously improving relations with China, saying they have "returned to a normal track", underscoring the consensus reached by leaders of both countries.

Ties between the world's second-and third-largest economies had soured in recent years mainly because of their territorial dispute over a cluster of islands in the East China Sea. It is encouraging then that the latest report on Japan's foreign policy and activities released on Tuesday notes that ties took a turn for the better last year. This was thanks to the efforts of both sides, as evidenced by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's official visit to Beijing in October, the first by a Japanese leader in nearly seven years.

It is the vast common interests that they share that have prompted China and Japan to shelve their differences and seek a closer partnership. After all, China is Japan's largest trading partner, and Japan, China's third-largest. And both countries support free trade and the rules-based international trading system, which is threatened by the protectionism and unilateralism of the United States.