Japan motives for closer China ties starkly apparent

Japan’s recent leaning toward China is just to ensure it is not marginalized on the world stage, Chinese experts said after the Japanese government expressed willingness to elevate bilateral ties to a new level.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tuesday he wished to deepen high-level exchanges with China and elevate bilateral relations to a “new stage” as 2018 marks the 40th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship.

“Abe believes it is imperative for Japan to improve its diplomatic relationship with China, given China’s increasing presence in the global economy and security,” Kyodo News quoted an anonymous source saying.

Japan’s gesture of getting closer to China is only a temporary tactic to ensure that it will not be marginalized in the international relations sphere, Wang Pin, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

After the US withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Japan felt pressured and thus tried to counter China through the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy” with India, Wang explained.

According to Japan’s Kyodo News, Abe has hinted many times his desire for cooperation on China’s Belt and Road initiative.

The Japanese prime minister has signaled his willingness to improve the Sino-Japanese relations on a number of recent occasions, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Wang said, China’s Belt and Road initiative has won praise internationally, but whether Japan truly supports the initiative remains a question. China should not celebrate too soon this sudden attitude change by the Japanese, Wang warned.

The Japanese government’s change of strategy would benefit both Japanese and Chinese companies, Liu Junhong, a research fellow at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times.