China-Japan relations are not only important to the two countries but have regional and global significance as well.

It is therefore necessary to approach the China-Japan relationship from a strategic perspective.

Asia, and Northeast Asia in particular, is faced with traditional security threats more than other areas of the world, while it is also up against non-traditional security threats such as terrorism. The desperate acts of the secessionist elements in China's Taiwan Province, for example, could lead to military conflicts across the Taiwan Straits. The tension triggered by the nuclear issue of North Korea could get out of control.

China and Japan, in spite of their disputes and feuds, have common interests in maintaining peace across the Taiwan Straits, and a stable and nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. Furthermore, the increasing interdependence of the Chinese and Japanese economies is vitally important to promoting growth.

China and Japan have different political systems and are hamstrung by problems such as the feud over the Diaoyu Islands and by historical issues. The terminology "historical issues" primarily refers to Japanese leaders paying homage to the Yasukuni Shrine where Japan's war dead, including 14 Class A war criminals, are honored. It also refers to some Japanese efforts to whitewash militarists' war crimes.

Some of the problems are left over by history and others have emerged recently as the relative strength of the two countries has grown and declined. All these problems are not expected to be settled in the short term. Acknowledging this reality, the two countries ought to seek co-operation in the political, economic and military fields, instead of confrontation, which would make both losers.

It follows logically that the two nations establish a strategic relationship that benefits both. Five factors are involved in introducing this kind of mutually beneficial strategic relationship.

First, both countries should accurately define their strategic roles relative to each other.

In the post-World War II years, Japan has stuck to a peaceful constitution, engaging in economic development and trying to steer clear of the old militarist road. Since the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s, however, some Japanese politicians have begun to entertain dreams of big-power status, under the cover of being a "normal country."

How to reap the biggest possible benefits from China's fast development and avoid negative impact also poses an important strategic task for Japan.

Correctly defining each other's strategic role means that China and Japan should acknowledge each other's legitimate rights, refrain from challenging each other's core strategic interests and interfering in each other's internal affairs, and strive to bring about a win-win situation for both countries in the bilateral and multi-lateral co-operative frameworks.

Second, the two countries should get out of the historical shadows and look forward to the future. Friendship and co-operation constitute the mainstream of the 2,000-year-old exchanges between China and Japan. The devastating war, which wrought havoc on both China and Japan, should be blamed on a handful of Japanese militarists, instead of the Japanese people.

How to look at the crimes committed by the Japanese militarists during World War II goes beyond the area of Japan's internal affairs. Instead, it involves Japan's credibility among Asian countries and also whether or not Japan will move forward forever on the road of peaceful development. Japanese politicians, therefore, ought to settle this problem once and for all.

China is pushing to resolve this question purely to use history as a mirror so that historical wrongs can be avoided in the future, with no intention to occupy a "moral high ground" or hold Japan's younger generation responsible for a war waged 60 years ago.

Third, what attitude should be adopted towards China's peaceful development and military modernization?

Peaceful development is now China's basic national policy and the country is fulfilling its political pledges. As a responsible big country, China is supposed to make bigger contributions to the international community. This calls for strong military strength in keeping with the country's international standing as a big country.

The physical military strength of a country is not a yardstick that can be used to judge whether or not this country poses a threat to others. The crux of the matter is its strategic intention and in which way it is going to use its military might. China's military strategy is defensive by nature and this strategy will remain in place forever.
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On the part of Japan, recognizing China's reasonable rights and refraining from crying about a "China threat" will help create a good climate for improving bilateral relations.

Fourth, the two countries should try to avoid being trapped in a box of mutual strategic rivalry.

Japan has been the leader of the "V" formation of Asian countries since the Meiji Reform, which started in the late 1860s, maintaining substantial advantage over all others politically, economically and militarily. However, China's fast development over the last three decades and the rise of its international standing have brought a sense of crisis to Japan.

Japan feels that its own strategic space is being eroded and its role as leader threatened.

It should be admitted that Japan's aid and help contributed substantially to China's rapid growth. Conversely, the high-speed development of the Chinese economy has also provided opportunities to Japan's economic recovery in recent years.

So the two economies are complementary to each other. Politically, there is no reason for the two nations to be necessarily counterposed to each other. The old mentality that "no rival tigers can exist in the same mountain" should be done away with and the two countries, in the course of promoting regional co-operation, should become the "twin engines" in powering the development of Northeast Asia.

Fifth, bilateral exchanges should be conducted at various levels and between different social groups.

Since Shinzo Abe became Japanese prime minister in September, Chinese President Hu Jintao has met with him twice, during Abe's China visit and at the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum in Vietnam last month. This signals that bilateral relations are taking a turn for the better.

(China Daily December 27, 2006)