China says it hopes Japan will deliver on commitment to develop ties

Japan hopes China would deliver on it's commitment to peace and love around the world.

I hope for the same.

Building good trilateral relations between Japan, SK and China is only going to be good for this region, and all 3 of these countries should be doing everything they can to ensure it becomes a cornerstone for prosperity and harmony in the region.

They have tens of thousands of years of shared history and they have the potential to be one of the most secure and robust regions in the world. A region where their own general and shared East Asian social and cultural values are acknowledged and celebrated, and the Asian identity is a source of pride.

Both must to commit to cooperation and peace..

Without the dirty interventionism of US..

Japan hopes China would deliver on it's commitment to peace and love around the world.

Commitment that good old US doesn't have..

OMG, that’s hysterical…I needed that just waking up

Commitment while China does whatever it wants to.

China can start by showing good faith by ending immediately their attempt to steal the Senkakus through constant territorial intrusions. Otherwise China is, as usual, talking out it's rear end.

TokyoLivingToday  07:07 am JST

Both must to commit to cooperation and peace..

Without the dirty interventionism of US.

Easy tiger, you are going to mortally offend the Pro-US crowd here, who are veeeery sensitive to suggestions that their country oversteps and meddles far too much.

They seem to perceive China as the great bogyman of the East, whilst strangely overlooking the fact that their own country is currently threatening the people of Greenland/Denmark, Canada, Palestine etc, and literally has China ringed with US military complexes.

China is literally promoting peace and better relations here, which can only be good for the region, and yet this crowd shout them down and furiously thumbs down any support for it. Must be anxious.

Maybe China should stop indoctrinating it's citizens in anti Japanese hatred first. They always make it Japan's responsibility but China is the one that needs to do work.

A couple months ago I would have been way more wary.

But with US security and trade pacts suddenly not being worth the paper they are printed on thanks to Trump I’d say Japan really does need to improve ties with China as much as possible.

Trump is about to slam Japan with a trade war, China isn’t. Its unfortunate but like the rest of the world Japan needs to diversify away from the US for its own security’s sake and it can’t do both that and maintain an antagonistic approach to China at the same time.

China says it hopes Japan will deliver on commitment to develop ties

World says it hopes China will stop threatening and attacking its neighbors, illegally occupying territory, stealing IP, conducting cyber-attacks, employing economic aggression, conducting hostage diplomacy, committing genocide, refusing a full and transparent investigation into COVID-19, etc. etc. etc.

World doesn't hold its breath.

rainydayToday 09:03 am JST

Trump is about to slam Japan with a trade war, China isn’t.

China regularly uses trade to slam Japan.

The seafood ban (that unquestionably violates WTO rules) still hasn't been lifted after over a year and a half, and there are all sorts of similar incidents in the past, like the rare earth ban after the Senkakus purchase.

Trump certainly cannot be trusted. However, once he's gone, the US may then become trustworthy again. China will be untrustworthy until the CCP falls.

Japan needs to diversify away from the US for its own security’s sake and it can’t do both that and maintain an antagonistic approach to China at the same time.

Countries certainly should diversify away from the US, but China is not the answer, as it is even worse than the US (even under Trump).

And the "antagonism" all stems from China's actions. If it respected international law, and kept its word rather than constantly lying, ties would be better. But they're not, and they never will be until the CCP falls.

Tamarama

and yet this crowd shout them down and furiously thumbs down any support for it.

Some sort of AI response as you say, straight from the Pentagon, one must assume :) When you paint China as a potential good neighbor in order and bring stability and economic cooperation to the entire region, here you have the big US industrial military complex representatives rebelling against, as that means less potential warmongering from US, and less orders for American weapons. Go figure :)

World says it hopes China will stop threatening and attacking its neighbors

World says it hopes China will stop threatening and attacking its neighbors, illegally occupying territory, stealing IP, conducting cyber-attacks, employing economic aggression, conducting hostage diplomacy, committing genocide, refusing a full and transparent investigation into COVID-19, etc. etc. etc.

World doesn't hold its breath.

Sounds like something that comes out the mouth of an American Republican politician. It's comical to even attempt to project those characteristics onto China. 1979 was the last war it ever fought, Ever since then a state of peace and global co-operation has been the norm. The Japanese will end up being discarded by the U.S who only care about annexing Canada, Panama and Greenland. America cannot hide behind the old facade anymore. People are waking up to the threat and danger the American empire poses. Look at how they bombing Yemen to support their Israeli love child. Japan has no future with the U.S and will have to turn towards China regardless of objections.

World says it hopes China will stop threatening and attacking its neighbors, illegally occupying territory, stealing IP, conducting cyber-attacks, employing economic aggression, conducting hostage diplomacy, committing genocide, refusing a full and transparent investigation into COVID-19, etc. etc. etc.

The problem for Japan is that until two months ago it was in a world where the US was at least in principle if not always in practice (Gaza, etc) taking a stand on those issues and there was a kind of clear choice between the two.

Today it is in a world where the US is suddenly looking worse than China on most things like that.

Economic aggression? China isn’t the one actively destroying the international trade system and targeting Japan in particular with tariffs that will devastate key sectors of its economy.

Genocide? See Trump’s Gaza resort proposal.

Covid transparency? China for all its faults didn’t just quit the WHO completely.

Illegally occupying territory? China is no saint, but the US is the one threatening to annex sovereign countries right now, not China.

Not to mention climate change and a million other things.

So Japan is now stuck between a rock and a hard place - two anti-democratic superpowers under fairly hostile regimes. Its best bet is to try to thread the needle between the two and not gratuitously antagonize either until it can figure out how to move forward in this much more dangerous world it suddenly finds itself in.

seem to perceive China as the great bogeyman of the East

It certainly is!

Ask Japan, India, South Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines.

China is literally promoting peace and better relations here

Yeah, right. . . . .

Nobody believes anything the CCP says these days regarding mutually beneficial ties. We all know the CCP is two-faced!!

You want respect, you have to earn it!!

Short article!

 It's comical to even attempt to project those characteristics onto China.

It is about economic interests, this is what we have been saying all this time, the reason about these people are showing up in droves when you threaten their commissions from the US big industrial military complex.

A few numbers:

Under the defense strategy, Japan aims to eventually double its annual military spending to around 10 trillion yen ($63 billion), making it the world’s No. 3 military spender after the United States and China.

And guess what, all American weapons-

According to the most recently available data from SIPRI the US represented 37% of global military expenditure in 2023. Three times more on its military than China, and eight times more than Russia.

Shall we remind Wall Street reached historical highs and the top 5 arms manufacturers are all based in America?

China regularly uses trade to slam Japan.

The seafood ban (that unquestionably violates WTO rules) still hasn't been lifted after over a year and a half, and there are all sorts of similar incidents in the past, like the rare earth ban after the Senkakus purchase.

I’n no defender of China but the problem is that what Trump is threatening to do is orders of magnitude more threatening to Japan’s economy than what China has been doing.

Trump certainly cannot be trusted. However, once he's gone, the US may then become trustworthy again. China will be untrustworthy until the CCP falls.

The problem there is that its not just Trump that can’t be trusted, its the United States that cannot be trusted. Even when Trump is gone he has already demonstrated that the US political system is capable of putting people like himself into power and even if he is replaced in 4 years by a sane person no other country can trust that good relations will last past the next election.

This wasn’t the case before Trump when there was bipartisan consensus on the basic framework of America’s relations with the rest of the world, which made it easy for friendly countries to trust the US. America is no longer predictable like that no matter who is in charge.

Countries certainly should diversify away from the US, but China is not the answer, as it is even worse than the US (even under Trump).

For most countries I would agree, but Japan is in a difficult spot. The EU is way more closely aligned with Japan and its values, but geography puts limits on trade and security ties between the two. ASEAN countries have some shared interests, but they lack unity and are not particularily strong as partners. South Korea is the one country above all others that Japan should be pursuing friendly relations with, but it has the same problems Japan does and isn’t a substitute for the loss of the US role.

I’m not saying Japan should or could enter into a strong relationship with China, but it absolutely does need to improve relations with it. A world in which both the US and China are squeezing Japan at the same time is not one Japan is going to do well in.

And the "antagonism" all stems from China's actions. If it respected international law, and kept its word rather than constantly lying, ties would be better. But they're not, and they never will be until the CCP falls.

I agree, but there is a point at which realpolitical considerations need to be taken seriously, and unfortunately Japan is in that situation.

DeeZeeToday 09:55 am JST

Sounds like something that comes out the mouth of an American Republican politician.

Sounds like 100% truth to me. Because it is.

Whether it comes from me, an American Republican politician, or anyone else, it doesn't change the facts.

1979 was the last war it ever fought

China is engaged in aggression right now in the South China Sea, and northern India. It is also threatening Taiwan, the Senkakus, and more.

It may not be engaged in a full-scale "war" but its actions are wrong in every way, and they -- along with the things I mention above -- show that China cannot be trusted to "deliver on commitment to develop ties."

Japan has no future with the U.S and will have to turn towards China regardless of objections.

Japan will not "turn towards" China, as it knows China can never be trusted under the CCP. That will not change, whoever is running the US.

Japan will try to maintain smooth relations as far as possible, whilst keeping China at arms length and improving ties with other countries (like India, Australia, Vietnam), which is the best course of action given the circumstances.

rainydayToday 09:57 am JST

Today it is in a world where the US is suddenly looking worse than China on most things like that.

The US under Trump is truly awful, but I would argue that China is even worse. You may disagree.

It also depends on where you are in the world: this is Japan Today so I am speaking from Japan's perspective, and China is by far Japan's biggest threat. If this were Gaza Today, you'd get a different answer.

Economic aggression? China isn’t the one...

None of your post changes the fact that China is actually doing all the things I said.

China is the topic of the article, and despite Trump's horror show of an administration, China still cannot be trusted.

Japan has never sincerely apologized for world War 2 atrocities and Japan has never signed NPT . Japan does not deserve the trust from Chinese !

It would be great to see Japan and China getting along better. It would benefit both sides enormously.

The US under Trump is truly awful, but I would argue that China is even worse. You may disagree.

Its not a question of which is worse, its the fact that both are objectively bad from Japan’s position and it can no longer make a clear choice between them even if it wanted to. This is not because of anything Japan has done, its because the US has unilaterally decided to pull the rug out from under Japan’s feet.

Even if the US is better, Japan simply can’t choose the US side if the US itself is telling Japan “The US is against you” which is what Trump is doing.

It also depends on where you are in the world: this is Japan Today so I am speaking from Japan's perspective, and China is by far Japan's biggest threat. If this were Gaza Today, you'd get a different answer.

I am speaking from Japan’s perspectve too and the fact is that Japan’s relationship iwith China is massively affected by its relationship with the US which is why I’m framing it that way. If it can rely on a solid relationship with the US Japan can be more assertive with China. Now that this isno longer the case, Japan has to be way more cautious in its relations with China than it used to be.

Also North Korea is Japan’s biggest threat, by far. China is an adversary but its own interests don’t pose an existential threat to Japan. North Korea has nukes and an incredibly irrational governance system that makes it extremely hostile and unpredictable, which is extraordinarily dangerous to Japan (even more so to South Korea).

China is a huge threat to Taiwan, with serious implications for Japan as well, so there is no chance of China becoming an ally of Japan and it will remain an adversary due to that and the Senkakus. But if China is extending a kind of olive branch to Japan as it seems to be, the worst thing Japan could do right now would be to slap that down.

Very interesting that China always takes the position that it is up to the other nation to change their behavior or attitude, but never China itself that needs to change or improve.

Until China accepts that many of its problems with other nations stems from incorrect Chinese behavior and attitudes, it will never be able to achieve positive results. China just trying to push s..t uphill.

rainydayToday 12:31 pm JST

I am speaking from Japan’s perspectve too and the fact is that Japan’s relationship iwith China is massively affected by its relationship with the US which is why I’m framing it that way.

US relations do influence the amount that Japan can "push back" against China, but they do not change the fact that China is an aggressive, dangerous, revisionist, lawless country that is unquestionably Japan's number one threat. That remains true whether it's Trump, Biden, Obama, or anyone else in the White House.

Whatever the situation is in the US -- or any other country -- Japan should not (and will not) trust China under the CCP. To do so would be suicidal.

The article has nothing to do with the US, but JT posters always seem determined to drag the US into it.

Also North Korea is Japan’s biggest threat, by far.

I vehemently disagree. China has a much greater desire to do Japan harm, and a much greater capacity to do so.

North Korea has nukes and an incredibly irrational governance system that makes it extremely hostile and unpredictable

The above also applies to China (even though it "pretends" to be nice sometimes). Plus, China has vastly more resources and ambition than North Korea.

But if China is extending a kind of olive branch to Japan as it seems to be, the worst thing Japan could do right now would be to slap that down.

The key phrase here is "as it seems to be." China's "olive branches" are insincere, and Japan knows that.

But even so, Japan won't "slap that down." As I say above, it will "try to maintain smooth relations as far as possible, whilst keeping China at arms length and improving ties with other countries."

Japan always responds positively to positive outreaches (even insincere ones from China), but it rightly will never trust China under the CCP.

Japan has played this game for a very long time, and knows exactly how it works.

China’s politics aside, it is true that Japan doesn’t always follow pledges with concrete action, so she does have a point

Tamara I appreciate the drama and truths that you educated but not brainwashed. And are more aware of the history of a Chinese province than your constant protagonist. Honesty prevails

Easy tiger, you are going to mortally offend the Pro-US crowd here, who are veeeery sensitive to suggestions that their country oversteps and meddles far too much.

They seem to perceive China as the great bogyman of the East, whilst strangely overlooking the fact that their own country is currently threatening the people of Greenland/Denmark, Canada, Palestine etc, and literally has China ringed with US military complexes.

China is literally promoting peace and better relations here, which can only be good for the region, and yet this crowd shout them down and furiously thumbs down any support for it. Must be anxious.

Yup, POTUS has signed edicts to silence the V.O.A. and to close the department of Education? Why? I have witnessed personally the local destruction caused by the US addiction to treating nonentity regions as play toys. In the contemporary world they are not the only peoples with educated brains

China is a more reliable and lucrative ally for Japan than the US.

rainydayToday  10:39 am JST

The problem there is that its not just Trump that can’t be trusted, its the United States that cannot be trusted. Even when Trump is gone he has already demonstrated that the US political system is capable of putting people like himself into power and even if he is replaced in 4 years by a sane person no other country can trust that good relations will last past the next election.

Technically correct. However, based on the first 59 days of Trump's 2nd presidency, the American public is unlikely to vote in anyone so insane again. People of all classes want stability and predictability, neither of which Trump has offered.

Shall we remind Wall Street reached historical highs and the top 5 arms manufacturers are all based in America?

Good stuff Fos, keep calling them out. They don't like to hear it, but it doesn't change the truth - the facts.

Isabelle

US relations do influence the amount that Japan can "push back" against China, but they do not change the fact that China is an aggressive, dangerous, revisionist, lawless country that is unquestionably Japan's number one threat.

Number one threat for what??? What, pray tell, do you envision China doing to Japan? Enlighten us Isabelle, because you seem awfully wound up about China. You don't work for Lockheed Martin by any chance???

Japan has to also carefully take into account it's broader relations with the world and their relations with China, especially regarding the US.

Clearly, China's long-term military buildup, increasing and unresolved geopolitical tensions across region and world and its technological competition with US all act to 'constrain' Japan's ability to develop ties with China.

Economic Pragmatism = fine line Japan seeks with China

TamaramaToday 03:51 pm JST

Number one threat for what??? What, pray tell, do you envision China doing to Japan? Enlighten us Isabelle, because you seem awfully wound up about China. You don't work for Lockheed Martin by any chance???

If you don't believe me -- and you clearly don't -- read the Japanese government's white papers and the academic literature for yourself.

If, after doing that, you still don't see China as Japan's number one threat, that would be astonishing. Or it may suggest you have some kind of motive for dismissing a very obvious threat to Japan's security.

Isabelle

Quote it - share it with us. I'll be happy to look at it.

Technically correct. However, based on the first 59 days of Trump's 2nd presidency, the American public is unlikely to vote in anyone so insane again. People of all classes want stability and predictability, neither of which Trump has offered.

I really hope this is correct, but one worries about whether the American public will be able to vote in free and fair elections again.

It's not possible for China to stop threatening its neighbors. If so, U.S. wouldn't be able to sell weapons to its subordinate countries. That's why China must continue to be the threat that it is.

 If so, U.S. wouldn't be able to sell weapons to its subordinate countries

Lets keep in mind that the 41 companies in the Top 100 based in the United States recorded arms revenues of $317 billion, half the total arms revenues of the Top 100 and 2.5 per cent more than in 2022. Since 2018, the top five companies in the Top 100 have all been based in the USA.

As a fact the US is trying to advance its "Indo-Pacific" strategy to contain China, fanning the flames in the Korean Peninsula, Taiwan Straits and South China Sea. The only military risk that we face from China is if we continue as a proxy for the US in its endless wars

TamaramaToday 05:12 pm JST

Isabelle

Quote it - share it with us. I'll be happy to look at it.

The below will get you started.

https://www.mod.go.jp/en/publ/w_paper/index.html

I'd highly recommend reading it all if you have time: you will then hopefully see that my words, and the words of others like me, are not baseless "China bashing," but are grounded in solid fact. And, furthermore, that the Japanese government is also of a similar view.

Even if you don't read it all, you can search for summaries online... and also read the Chinese reactions if you want a laugh.

Whatever you decide, I will leave you with the below one-line example from P62 [emphasis mine].

...

China’s current external stance, military activities, and other activities have become a matter of serious concern for Japan and the international community, and present an unprecedented and the greatest strategic challenge in ensuring the peace and security of Japan and the peace and stability of the international community, as well as in strengthening the international order based on the rule of law, to which Japan should respond with its comprehensive national power including its defense capabilities and in cooperation and collaboration with its ally, like-minded countries, and others.

quercetumToday 08:29 pm JST

It's not possible for China to stop threatening its neighbors. If so, U.S. wouldn't be able to sell weapons to its subordinate countries.

Again, bringing the US into it when the article has nothing to do with it.

It's the standard tactic for JT's resident pro-CCP mob: try to mask China's malign acts by blaming the US for everything.

It's laughably transparent.

all act to 'constrain' Japan's ability to develop ties with China.

Annual $300 billion in two-way trade doesn't feel too constrained.

Isabelle

OK, so it took you quite a while to dig this up.....and this is it? Is this what all of your fear and paranoia around China is fuelled by? This is meant to send us into fits of panic? Come on.

You say China is a 'threat' to Japan (your words) - but the English translation of this white paper does not. China is not stated to be a direct threat to Japan, because China hasn't threatened Japan.

Sure, it's prudent for countries like Japan to watch the rise of China with caution, and to say so. In Japan's case, especially given Japan's military history with China, AND the fact that Japan explicitly states that the 'Alliance with the US is the cornerstone of our national security policy.' It's a sticky position to be in.

But, I am wary of Metanarratives, the way they are constructed, and why. Despite your insinuations, I am not Chinese, have no connections to China. I am from this general geo-political region though, and a long term resident of Japan. I am also highly cynical of US involvement and intentions in this part of the world.

As you can probably gather, I see the US as a self-serving, hegemonic world power who has a long and proven history of intervening and meddling in the geo-political fabric of Asia. That's not even a controversial position, it's just historically factual. This continues to this day, inclusive of the way certain places around the world are interpreted and presented. China is one of those. I don't for one second think China is the perfect country. Not at all. But I do like to think critically and objectively about geo-political realities independently, and draw my own conclusions. I am cynical of power, and how it attempts to distort and veil realities, which means that I don't view China as the great Bogyman.

China is a complex and nuanced country that has undergone a fascinating 100 years of change, with significant interference from both Japan and the US.

So, back to the original point of this article, I think Japan absolutely should do everything they can to build better relations with China, as it is in everyone's best interest that they do so. If they just keep buying US weapons and treating China as an enemy, then nothing will get better in this part of the world, and that's not what we want.

TamaramaToday 07:56 am JST

OK, so it took you quite a while to dig this up.....and this is it? Is this what all of your fear and paranoia around China is fuelled by? This is meant to send us into fits of panic? Come on.

No, that isn't "it," but it should be sufficient for this debate. If, after reading it and other related literature, you still don't see China as a threat to Japan that is simply shocking.

I have no idea what your background is, but I would guess it's nothing to do with national security or the military. (Or it is, but in an adversary country of Japan or the US.)

As you can probably gather, I see the US as a...

Again, totally irrelevant to China's malign acts, and zero excuse for them.

And the world laughs at the bully….

Some sort of AI response as you say, straight from the Pentagon, one must assume

As China gets stuck in a "projection loop" "projection loop" "projection loop" "projection loop" "projection loop" "projection loop".

The USgovt/military doesn't pay average citizens to post on forums. There's no law saying anyone in the US must be pro-USA. We are free to like and dislike what our govt does and doesn't do.

Whereas China has multiple laws that mandate doing whatever the govt says. Refusing isn't an option. There's an underbelly of criminals in China attacking people anywhere in the world and the CCP will ignore them, provided they don't harm trivially China or a CCP member. But eventually, some crooks will go outside China and point their attacks back into China to steal. That's when the CCP gets unhappy and goes after the family left in China, taking away the ability of people to use their phone to buy things, ride mass transit, prevent access to health care and schools for their children. That's happening with the Chinese crooks in Myanmar now. They've been publicly outed. Their families in China are being harassed and have had their national ID deleted, making life all but impossible for innocent people.

China goes after family if 1 person doesn't behave in a way the CCP approves, even when outside China. China and Chinese agents do things constantly outside China that are illegal by international law.

China uses trade to punish countries that don't do exactly as they like all the time. Australian wine, Australian minerals, Japanese seafood, Taiwanese pineapples, or they take machetes to boats sitting on a reef that is recognized as owned by the country of the boat there.

If the US was acting like China, there would be 75 fighter aircraft dashing at mainland China a few times every week backed with a carrier strike group. Instead, the US just sends a few ships a month through international waters and so do other countries. It is fine if a Chinese fighter wants to escort other aircraft flying in international airspace, provided they do it safely. Staying 500m away makes the point without endangering anyone.

Somehow China claims these legal acts are provocative, but their actions aren't?

China could change how it is seen in the world quickly. Take all their territorial claims to international courts and follow the ruling, whatever it may be.

There are times when Chinese military does escort commercial ships through dangerous places and the escort is appreciated. I suppose the escort is to counteract piracy in the region often targeting container ships.