By Feng Zhaokui
Now that Yasuo Fukuda will be Japan's prime minister, it is
expected that China and Japan will continue the process of
improving bilateral relations that began with Prime Minister Abe's
visit to China in October 2006, and create a new relationship
geared to the 21st century.
An up-and-coming Japanese politician who claimed to be of the
"strategy school" told this author that the strategy part was based
on the theory of realism.
Realism in international relations today means hard-line
diplomacy carried out by hawkish politicians. To these realists,
the world of international relations is a "world of wolves". So
some Chinese researchers maintain that China is "dancing with the
wolves" in handling its relations with foreign countries. Any other
approach would leave the country on the losing end of any bargain
in international affairs, they believe.
However, China's leaders have formulated a strategy of bringing
about a world in harmony. Can the notion of harmony translate into
reality? Or is it just a utopian idea in the context of a
jungle-style rivalry of national interests? The question of whether
China can open up a road of peaceful development that is distinctly
different from the one traveled by many Western powers as they rose
hinges on these points of view.
In a disharmonious world, can one talk about peaceful
development? Can we expect a world of wolves to tolerate the
peaceful development of a big and populous country such as
China?
All things considered, China's pursuit of a harmonious world is
obviously a great undertaking, one never before attempted by
humankind. It requires creativity and innovation in our foreign
affairs theory and ideas.
Although hawkish American and Japanese politicians still cling
to their realism, or the philosophy of the wolves, this author
believes that their theory, spawned in the 20th century, cannot
keep up with the changes in the world today. And the options based
on this archaic theory are running increasingly against the will of
the people.
There is one basic factor that helps explain this author's
belief: Non-traditional security menaces such as global warming and
environmental pollution, rather than traditional ones such as
nuclear warfare, are the most realistic threat to the survival of
humanity. This is in sharp contrast to the heyday of international
realism, when people believed that environmental and natural
resources were inexhaustible and there for humanity to wantonly
draw upon.
A recent report by the International Panel on Climate Change
indicates that the environment is undergoing profound changes and
that human activities probably account for 90 percent of global
warming, among other factors.
This author believes that environmental pollution and climate
change will have a no less devastating impact on human civilization
than a nuclear war. The drastically changing situation is bringing
about a turning point for international relations, overhauling the
international order and reshaping international ethics. This trend
will eventually move the human race onto a new path of evolution.
It could be said that humanity is standing at a fork in the road.
One way leads to continual progress toward a win-win situation. The
other leads to the abyss of total decay.
In terms of the relationship between China and Japan,
geographical closeness not only facilitates cooperation, but also
makes it easier to do each other harm.
Modern weapons make it impossible for one country to inflict
damage on another without retribution. At the same time, all
countries must care about the environment without regard to their
geographical closeness. In other words, peaceful co-existence
benefits both China and Japan, while conflicts harm both. This
holds true whether we are discussing environmental or military
affairs.
Japan would be traveling down a blind alley if it were to return
to the old militarist ways that led to World War II. The changing
winds in the world today are bound to arouse pacifist forces inside
Japan to thwart the hawkish politicians' attempts to get the
country back on the road leading to war.
Some political elements inside Japan are calling for a revision
of Japan's pacifist constitution, and heated debate on the issue is
under way. Those who advocate revising the ninth article of the
constitution claim that Japan is under threat from outside,
implying Japan should be on guard against a military threat from
China.
State-to-state relationships are a process of interaction. How
Japan treats China depends to a large extent on how China treats
Japan, and vice versa. Obviously, it is imperative for us to win
over the Japanese people by demolishing the China threat
theory.
In the wake of Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Japan in April this
year, a Japanese defense expert remarked that the biggest threat to
Japan's security came from China's "reconciliation strategy towards
Japan". His words showed that right-wing Japanese politicians
really feel threatened by China's Japan policy, which was put
forward by President Hu Jintao. It calls for peaceful co-existence,
friendship down the generations, mutual beneficial co-operation and
common development.
China's reconciliation strategy provides Japan and the Japanese
people a golden opportunity for peaceful development, rather than a
threat.
The author is a researcher with the Institute of Japanese
Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
(China Daily September 25, 2007)
