FOCUS: Japan-China Relations Reach Major Turning Point

Beijing, Sept. 20 (Jiji Press)--Relations between Japan and China have reached a major turning point following a series of events over the past year.
As a significant development that reflects the two countries' changing positions, China surpassed Japan as the world's second largest economy in terms of nominal gross domestic product in 2010.
But a more direct impact on bilateral relations came from the collision of a Chinese fishing boat and Japanese patrol ships near disputed East China Sea islands, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, in September last year.
While the increased tensions between the two sides that followed the collision appear to have waned, unresolved problems, such as the territorial dispute and the question of joint development of a gas field in disputed waters, could rekindle bilateral tensions "at any time," says a Chinese Communist Party source.
The ocean collision forced China into a corner because its belligerent stance on the disputed islands and territorial claims in the South China Sea came under international criticism.
China's leadership reviewed its foreign policy late last year in the face of growing international concern about its growing military might, resulting in Beijing's return to a more conciliatory approach, according to Chinese diplomatic sources.
The gap in the perception of China between the international community and the Chinese themselves widened at the time, recalls a senior Chinese Foreign Ministry official.
Anti-Japan sentiment among Chinese youths gathered steam, developing into demonstrations against Japan in October last year. Chinese leaders sought to improve their country's relationship with Tokyo, fearing that the discontent shown by China's youth could be turned on the Communist Party.
The massive earthquake and tsunami that hit the northeastern region of Japan on March 11 led to a shift in the way the Chinese view their neighbor.
Visiting victims of the disaster in May, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao praised the Japanese for their composure and resolve to rebuild. Views in favor of Japan were frequently voiced on the Internet in China.
There also were events that aroused a sense of respect for Japan among Chinese, such as the Japanese women's soccer team winning the FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany and the safety of Japan's Shinkansen bullet train system against the backdrop of a collision between high-speed trains in July in China.
Chinese sentiment toward Japan has changed possibly because China has surpassed Japan as an economic power, says a pundit well versed in bilateral relations.
The Japanese, on the other hand, have been surprised by China's rapid economic growth and show few signs of improving their view of the country.
Anti-Chinese sentiment among the Japanese usually arose from bilateral issues, such as Beijing's protesting visits by Japanese political leaders to Tokyo's war-related Yasukuni Shrine, the dispute over the East China islands and a food poisoning outbreak in Japan in 2007-2008 caused by pesticide-tainted frozen "gyoza" dumplings made in China.
However, nowadays such anti-Chinese sentiment is more often than not the result of internal problems in China, such as the train collision, says a China-based Japanologist.
China is prioritizing political stability both at home and abroad ahead of the Communist Party convention in autumn next year, according to a party official.
Chinese media initially portrayed Japan's new prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda, as a hawk because of his stance on Yasukuni, which honors Japanese Class-A war criminals among the war dead.
However, when Noda said he will not visit the Shinto shrine, the Communist Party organ, the People's Daily, put the issue center stage.
With the Chinese government urging Noda to visit China before the end of the year, bilateral relations, although still shaky, are seeing opportunities for improvement. At stake is whether diplomats on both sides are shrewd enough to take advantage of them.