Backgrounder: History remembered in Sino-Japanese ties

Source: CCTV.com | 04-12-2007 08:14

Historically, China and Japan have solid foundations for the progress of friendly, cooperative relations. Contact goes back to the Han Dynasty, more than 2,000 years ago. But when contentious issues embedded in history and geography emerge, so do competing motives.

China and Japan are close neighbors, separated only by a narrow strip of sea.

Since ancient times, the two countries have influenced each other in many different ways.

In 1937, Japanese troops began their all-out invasion, which left Chinese people with painful memories.

The Chinese struggled against the Japanese imperialists for eight years, a major part of the anti-facist movement in the Second World War.

In 1972, China and Japan normalized diplomatic ties, signing joint declarations that would serve as the base for bilateral relations.

In this way, the two governments committed themselves to creating a lasting, peaceful and friendly relationship.

Prof. Liu Jiangyong, Tsinghua University, said, "In the 1970s and 1980s, bilateral ties made great progress, which can be called the 'honey-moon' between the two countries. But because of issues concerning history, these ties have saw ups and downs since then."

In the past five years, a range of disputes brought Sino-Japanese relations to their lowest level in decades:

Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's continuous visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Second World War criminals.

Japan's approval of school textbooks that whitewash the country's wartime atrocities.

Japan's joint military strategy with the US that names the Chinese province of Taiwan as a mutual security concern.

And territorial disputes over the East China Sea and the Diaoyudao Islands.

Observers are clear that all these problems come from the same source.

Prof. Liu Jiangyong said, "I think all the problems that emerged over the past year between China and Japan can be boiled down to one issue, that is, history. Solving the lingering problems will require courage and political wisdom."

This year marks the 35th anniversary of the normalization of bilateral ties.

And it's the 70th anniversary of the Lugou Bridge Incident, which marks the start of China's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression in the Second World War.

These events remind us that history can provide a map to guide us forward.

Editor:Du Xiaodan