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China news tagged with: Japan relations (139)

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China Inks New Deals with Japan on Environmental Protection
Xinhua reports on new deals in the green tech sector signed between China and Japan:
The two sides clinched 42 deals involving cooperation in sewage treatment construction, electric waste disposal and energy saving research.
The deals were made during the fourth Sino-Japan energy saving and environment protection forum which began on Sunday.
Energy saving highlights the bilateral economic ties, as Japan has accumulated rich experiences in the area, said Xie Zhenhua, vice minister in charge of China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
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- November 8, 2009 10:00 PM
China, Japan Plan Group on EU Lines
From the Times of India:
In a move that is considered to send shock waves around the world, Japan and China have proposed a plan to create an “East Asian Community,” similar to the European Union, which could make a fierce force to reckon with and which would also improve economic and political relationships in the region.
The proposal is its initial stages and it could include visa-free travel, public health, energy and the environment. In the later stages of the proposal, it is being said that political issues and common policies on defence and agriculture would also play a major part.
The alliance could become a big force in future, as Japan is currently the second-largest economy in the world, while China is in third place. It is also said that India would also join the league.
According to reports, Japanese PM Yukio Hatoyama put the proposal to Chinese president Hu Jintao during their first meeting, in New York on September 21. The issue was again discussed during Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada’s meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, in Shanghai last week.
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- October 6, 2009 5:58 PM
The Future of Japanese-Chinese Relations Under Japan’s New Government: An Expert Weighs In
On China Beat, Elizabeth M. Lynch interviews Gerald Curtis, Columbia University political science professor, about the likely impact the recent election in Japan will have on relations with China:
EL: My first question is: how do you envision the China-Japanese relationship changing with the change of government in Japan?
GC: Well, I think it’s going to get better. It’s already gotten better in the last few years, but it will get better. One reason being Hatoyama’s view on the so-called history issue, on Japan’s responsibility for its behavior during the War and the years leading up to the War, is very heartfelt and the Chinese will appreciate his view on the history issue. Unlike some of the LDP leaders who apologized but didn’t really mean it, Hatoyama believes Japan was behaving very badly and will say so. So I think that will be very good. Also, he wants to see a stronger relationship with China. He’s not going to go to the Yakasuni shrine which has been a source of difficulty. He wants to create an alternative site in which foreign leaders can go, as well as Japanese leaders, to pay respects to all those who died in the War regardless of nationality. He wants to encourage greater cooperation on issues like environmental, pollution control and so on, which the Chinese desperately need. And I think he understands well that improving relations with China doesn’t come at the expense of relations with the U.S. The U.S. wants to improve relations with China, so does Japan, but the U.S. and Japan together can do a lot in dealing with China and some of the problems it faces. So I think the relationship is likely to get better.
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- October 5, 2009 8:48 PM
China, Japan Ministers Meet For Key Economic Talks
From AFP:
Top ministers from China and Japan were to meet on Sunday to discuss the global financial crisis and ways to boost trade ties between the world’s number two and three economies.
The one-day Japan-China High-Level Economic Dialogue in Tokyo brings together a Beijing delegation led by Vice Premier Wang Qishan with senior Japanese officials headed by Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone.
“This meeting is designed for the chiefs from the economic and other fields to get together and have cross-sector talks on how they should develop bilateral relations,” a Japanese government official said.
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- June 6, 2009 8:03 PM
In Chinese City, WWII Enemies Are Now Partners
From Los Angeles Times:
Looking back, Japanese businessman Tomatsu Ito says, he might as well have moved to Mars rather than a few hours’ flight away to China.
Unlike in his publicly polite homeland, drivers in Dalian were chaotic, often careening through crowded crosswalks. Worse, he couldn’t muster even the most basic Chinese.
Often desperate, he would phone JianHua Yang, his second in charge at the branch office of an Osaka, Japan-based software company. Yang is a Dalian native who, like many here, speaks Japanese.
“I’d call him out of nowhere,” Ito recalled. “I’d say, ‘I’m lost again. I have no idea how to get home.’ “
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- May 25, 2009 5:23 AM
Aso Calls For Japan, China To Unite
From AFP:
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso on Thursday called for Tokyo and Beijing to unite in facing the world’s environmental and economic challenges, while playing down concerns over China’s military power.
In a wide-ranging speech in Beijing, Aso floated the prospect of a bilateral free trade deal and joint peace-keeping operations, and said closer ties between the historic rivals was the only way forward.
“Cooperation between Japan and China is a pre-condition for taking advantage of Asia’s potential as the growth centre for the 21st Century,” Aso told a gathering of business leaders from both nations.
Aso, who met Chinese President Hu Jintao later Thursday for the final major engagement of his two-day trip, talked about working together to overcome the “once-in-a-century global economic and financial crisis”.
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- April 30, 2009 10:56 AM
New York Times: China Can’t Have It Both Ways
The New York Times published an editorial criticizing China’s reactions to Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso’s recent offering at the Yasukuni Shrine and to a potential meeting between President Obama and the Dalai Lama:
Mr. Aso’s offering to Yasukuni was blatantly provocative and offensive, even if all he offered was a potted sakaki evergreen, and his explanation — that he was just expressing “appreciation and respect” to Japanese who gave their all — was disingenuous.
We understand China’s frustration. But it only makes Beijing’s repression of Tibet and its attacks on the Dalai Lama all the more hypocritical.
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- April 26, 2009 1:47 PM
David Adam Stott: China, Japan and Indonesia’s LNG Ploys
From Japan Focus:
2008 was a rollercoaster year for those in the oil and gas industries. In July crude oil prices hit US$147 a barrel in the wake of attacks on Nigerian oil installations, before receding to under US$40 in December after months of economic decline in most major consuming countries. Weaker economies and record high prices have seemingly reduced worldwide demand and burst the speculative bubble in commodity prices. For those in government and business tasked with strategic planning such pricing movements make their jobs extremely challenging. Indeed, despite extensive research by the World Bank, analysts remain unsure if future oil prices will ever again climb above US$100 per barrel.
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- February 2, 2009 11:00 PM
Japan Says China’s Gas Drilling ‘Regrettable’
According to Japanese officials, China violated an agreement it had brokered with Japan in 2008 to jointly develop gas fields in the East China Sea. From Reuters:
Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone said China had been drilling in violation of a June 2008 agreement with Japan and that Tokyo had protested as soon as it became aware. He did not specify when this happened.
[...]
“Under last June’s agreement, we were meant to continue negotiations about the areas on which there was no political consensus. So this is most regrettable and we are protesting to the Chinese government,” Nakasone told reporters.
[...]
The Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement on its website at the weekend that developing the field was an “inherent sovereign right of China”.
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- January 5, 2009 7:48 PM
China Condemns Sacked Japan General’s War Comments
From Reuters:
China was strongly critical on Saturday of an essay by a Japanese air force chief of staff who said Japan was not an aggressor in Asia in World War Two and was later dismissed for airing those views.
“We are shocked by and express our strong indignation over the senior Japanese military officer’s denial of Japan’s aggression and overtly glorifying its history of invasion,” the Xinhua news agency quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu as saying.
General Toshio Tamogami, in an essay posted on the website of a Japanese hotel and apartment developer, said Japan was ensnared into World War Two by the United States and that Japan’s military actions in China were based on treaties.
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- November 2, 2008 3:14 AM
Japan’s Leader Wants More Phone Time With China
From AP:
China and Japan pledged to continue their recently warming ties, with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso saying Saturday the countries’ leaders should talk more on the phone.
Making his first visit to Beijing since becoming prime minister last month, Aso said he and President Hu Jintao agreed to cooperate in dealing with the challenge posed by the global financial crisis.
They also discussed North Korea’s nuclear program and the war on terrorism and called for moving ahead with “mutually beneficial strategic ties,” Aso said.
“We should build trust to the extent that we can pick up the phone whenever necessary,” Aso told reporters after the close of a two-day meeting of Asian and European leaders in Beijing.
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- October 25, 2008 9:51 PM
The Japanese Train Controversy
Cam MacMurchy of the Zhongnanhai blog reports on the online furor caused by a train conductor’s decision to make a special, unscheduled stop by the Dalian airport for his Japanese passengers.
On August 22nd a train in the Dalian traffic section made an unscheduled stop close to the Dalian airport for some Japanese passengers. Thanks to the one-minute stop, the passengers were able to catch their flight on time. One of the Japanese passengers was so thankful for the gesture that he wrote a letter in Chinese to thank the captain: “The train stopped temporarily for us for one minute. This would not have been done in another country in the whole world,” he wrote.
News of the train stoppage has provoked controversy among Chinese netizens. Over ten thousand people posted their opinions online. Should the train have stopped? Would the train stop for Chinese passengers in an emergency? 90% of people online don’t believe the train would’ve made the unscheduled stop for Chinese passengers.
[...]Some netizens questioned the credibility of the letter written by the Japanese passenger. According to the report, the writer, who represented the Japanese passengers, wrote, in Chinese, “This would not have been done in another country in the whole world. The train stopped just for us at the Zhoushuizi station and the captain organized for us to get off in advance, which gave us enough time to catch our flight. This has never happened in daily life in China before. The captain even organized the police car to escort us to the airport. I don’t think this has ever happened before, either.”
Some netizens thought the letter was sarcastic.
The train conductor soon caught word of netizens’ anger, via his son who had been surfing online. In response, the conductor wrote the following statement, translated by Zhongnanhai:
First, why was there a delay? Due to the rapid growth of the Chinese economy and our large population, the demand for railway services is far higher than the actual volume. The report (the author references an original newspaper article praising him for stopping the train) said that China’s railway volume is 7% of the world’s railway volume, but in fact it stands at 40%. This is a huge accomplishment, but a big problem, too. This can not be solved in the near future due to the massive amount of investment needed for the development of the China Railway industry. We have nothing to do with the delays of Chinese trains. The acceleration of the Chinese railway system is at the expense of fewer stops. Lots of trains don’t stop at small stations. I hope everyone can understand these delays.
Second, why would we stop for those Japanese passengers? The seven Japanese passengers were late for their flight, which was due to the delay of our train. If they couldn’t catch the flight, it would cause them a late departure and maybe other troubles as well. It was due to our problem. There were two elders in their group and they looked really worried. Credit (?) records are very important in the developed world, so if there was a late departure on their passports it would cause other problems for them. From another point of view, Japan is a developed country. Our country needs their investment and has to import lots of advanced technology from them. I did it for the benefit of our country. It was a good opportunity to build a good image of China. There are no trivial things in diplomacy. If I didn’t handle this well, it would result in damage to our country’s reputation and foreign investment.
Zhongnanhai also translates some of the user comments to his response:
If it was Chinese, would you stop for them? I look down upon some people who caters to foreigners, soft bone! Double faced! It is not shameful to be in a low social position, it is shameful to have a low spirit.
I don’t think netizens are angry only at you. It is the common SUPER NATIONAL TREATMENT incidents. If “it won’t happen in any other countries in the world”, why we would sacrifice to please “foreign friends?”
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- October 24, 2008 11:31 PM
Aso To Visit China Late Oct, Eyes Talks With Hu, Wen
From Reuters:
Japan’s new Prime Minister Taro Aso plans to visit China in late October, eyeing his first summit with Chinese leaders since taking office last month, government officials said on Sunday.
Tokyo and Beijing are in talks to set up a meeting between Aso and Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, when Aso attends the summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Beijing on October 24 and 25, two officials said.
Aso has shot down speculation that he would call a snap election later this month, saying that he would first work to stimulate the economy.
“That allows Aso to attend the ASEM meeting, and the government is in the final stage of scheduling” the meetings with Hu and Wen, said a foreign ministry official who asked not to be named as he was not authorized to speak to the media.
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- October 6, 2008 5:44 PM
China Avoids Direct Comment On New Japan Leader Aso
From Reuters:
China avoided commenting directly on the election of hawkish Taro Aso as Japan’s new leader, with a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman saying on Tuesday only that good ties were in the interests of both countries.
An outspoken nationalist, Aso won the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership vote on Monday, succeeding Yasuo Fukuda, who had focused on improving long-strained ties with Beijing.
Aso, a former foreign minister, has been wary of China and wants Japan to wield more regional clout.
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- September 23, 2008 4:31 AM
Beijing Denies Intruding Sub Was Chinese, Lodges Complaint
Beijing has denied that the unidentified submarine that entered Japanese waters recently was Chinese. It has also lodged a formal complaint with Japan over the incident and the subsequent implications by Japanese media that the sub was Chinese. From The Japan Times:
The Chinese Foreign Ministry contacted the Japanese Embassy on Monday evening denying the possibility that the submarine was Chinese and describing the reports as false and regrettable, Foreign Ministry Deputy Press Secretary Yasuhisa Kawamura said.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force stopped looking for the submarine Tuesday afternoon.
…
Defense Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a separate news conference there was no information that would help pin down the nationality of the vessel.
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- September 16, 2008 9:44 PM