By Shi Guangsheng
The relationship between China and Japan exercises a profound
influence on the present and future of Asia and has worldwide
impact as well, apart from being vitally important to the two
countries themselves.
Geographically, the two nations are close neighbors.
Thanks to this geographic closeness, the Shanghai-Osaka marine
transportation cost, for example, is merely one-fifth that of a
Shanghai-Hamburg run and one-10th that of a Shanghai-New York
shipment. A flight from Tokyo to Beijing takes only three and a
half hours, almost the same as air travel from Beijing to
Guangzhou.
Both countries are big players in Asia, with a combined
population making up nearly 40 percent of the Asian total and
combined GDP accounting for 80 percent of Asia's total. In
addition, the two countries' trade volume has a 60 percent share in
Asia.
The figures provided by the International Monetary Fund show
that the two countries contributed enormously to the economic
growth in East Asia in, for instance, 2003 and 2004.
Conversely, the stability and prosperity of Asia, which provides
China and Japan with a vast stage, is vital to the two countries.
The geographic closeness places China and Japan in an "intergrowth
of interests" in the Asian arena.
Economically, the two countries complement each other, due to
different patterns of resources and the different stages of
development in which China and Japan find themselves. This demands
we advance co-operation. As a matter of fact, this economic
complementariness has translated into strong momentum for
co-operation over the last three decades.
The market best epitomizes the complementary nature of the two
economies.
Economic development of both countries relies on vast markets.
At the same time, however, China and Japan are big markets in
themselves. For example, China has imported US$2,200 billion worth
of commodities over the past five years. In 2005 alone, goods with
a total value of US$660 billion were imported. This vast market,
still growing at fast pace, is vitally important to Japan.
On the other hand, Japan is a big market, too. While turning out
huge quantities of manufactured goods and high-tech products, Japan
absorbs daily utensils and farm produce in large amounts, a
significant portion of which comes from China.
The two complementary markets are bringing beneficial results to
both peoples.
The two countries are also complementary to each other in
science and technology and in human resources.
China has an abundant supply of labor, which is of high quality,
while enjoying a complete set of basic-science disciplines and
large ranks of scientists. Japan boasts contingents of top-notch
researchers and managerial personnel and an advanced scientific
set-up, which combine to churn out scientific and technological
outcomes that lead the world.
In addition, the prospects of economic growth in the two
countries compensate for each other. This is because both Chinese
and Japanese economies are in a period of ascendancy, which offers
much room for co-operation.
According to China's 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10), for example,
the Chinese economy is set to grow by 7.5 percent annually over the
coming five years. At the same time, Japan's economy, having
stepped out from the shadows of stagnation over the last decade,
has registered growth for the last four years in a row.
With economic growth picking up speed, bilateral trade is
expected to grow by large margins.
In addition, industrial structure realignment, resource
exploration, environmental protection and energy saving are all
important fields for co-operation.
Historically, the two countries experienced centuries of
friendly exchanges and also suffered woes brought by wars in the
more recent past. In view of this, we must develop friendship and
avoid woes.
?
The late Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai often said that
Sino-Japanese ties were marked by 2,000 years of friendship and 50
years of misfortunes.
As early as in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), Monk Jianzhen
(Ganjin) made six voyages to Japan to spread Buddhism there and 19
batches of Japanese students were sent to China for studies during
the period, who later brought back to Japan knowledge of Chinese
culture, medicine and so on.
In addition, China and Japan were important trade partners in
ancient times. The two sides, for instance, signed a trade pact
during China's Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the first ever between the
two sides.
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949,
especially since the Sino-Japanese rapprochement in 1972, the
bilateral trade has made advances by leaps and bounds. For example,
China has become Japan's No 1 trade partner since 2004 and Japan
China's third largest. Twenty percent of Japan's overseas companies
in terms of numbers are resident in China; 11 percent of Japan's
total output and 10 percent of total profits are attributed to
China.
Since 1979, Japanese investment and technology have helped
considerably speed up the course of industrialization in China.
Good state-to-state relations help create a favorable climate
for bilateral economic co-operation.
Both parties, therefore, should strive to bring about this
favorable climate.
First, the two countries ought to bring into play their own
advantages, which are complementary to each other, and make
progress side by side in a win-win context.
At present, three things need to be taken care of in this
respect.
To begin with, environmental and energy-saving co-operation
needs to be strengthened. China's 11th Five-Year Plan mandates that
energy consumed in turning out a given amount of GDP be brought
down by 20 percent by 2010. This offers a good opportunity for
Japan, which has first-class technologies for environmental
protection and energy conservation.
Then comes the issue of Japan's getting involved in some of
China's local development programs, such as developing the western
regions, reviving the old industrial base in Northeast China and
promoting economic progress in the central areas.
Finally, mechanisms for mutual investment promotion ought to be
improved. On this platform, investment in small and medium-sized
enterprises on both sides will be facilitated and a new framework
of mutual investment introduced.
Second, both parties should work together to help deepen
regional economic co-operation in Asia.
Upon entering the new century, the pace of regional co-operation
has quickened and the level of economic integration has been
steadily enhanced. The integration rate in Asia has reached 60
percent, according to the estimate by Japan's Ministry of Economy,
Trade and Industry. Conditions are maturing for forging an Asian
regional economic community. China and Japan can help accelerate
the progress of the bilateral, China-Japan-South Korea and
10-plus-three (10 countries grouped in the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations on the one hand and China, Japan and South Korea on
the other) co-operation.
Third, the two countries can work together to push for the
introduction of a new international economic order based on
fairness and justice.
With the acceleration of economic globalization, problems keep
cropping up: runaway petrol price hikes, murky prospects for the
Doha Round of world trade negotiations and challenges and
predicaments confronting many nations.
As big trade players and important members of the World Trade
Organization, China and Japan have unshirkable obligations to help
reopen the Doha Round negotiations, improve the multilateral trade
regime, tear down tariff barriers and safeguard the international
economic order based on fair competition.
The author is the vice-chairman of the Financial and
Economic Committee of the National People's Congress.
(China Daily August 10, 2006)
