Ahead of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's rare visit to China on Wednesday, Yasuo Fukuda, who was Japan's prime minister from 2007 to 2008, forecasts the direction of the relationship between the world's second and the third largest economies.
Forty years ago, it was Yasuo Fukuda's father who witnessed the Treaty of Peace and Friendship signed between China and Japan.
The document clarifies basic principles for handling historical issues and peaceful development. Decades on, the former prime minister said the treaty is still of great significance, adding the signing of the treaty made people-to-people exchanges, trade, and many other areas between Japan and China freer than ever.
Abe's visit comes as bilateral ties get back on track, after long-standing tensions over territorial and historical disputes. Analysts say China and Japan now seek to drive growth while facing regional and global uncertainties.
The consensus on seeing each other as partners appears to be even more crucial in these changing times. China is set to hold a reception commemorating the treaty's signing, which is seen as a chance for both sides to review the past and chart a new course for relations.
Japan's former prime minister Yasuo Fukuda (L) shakes hands with China's State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) before their meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, October 10, 2018. /VCG Photo
Yasuo Fukuda considered dialogue between the countries' leaders to be significant for developing Sino-Japanese relations.
He said people from both sides are looking forward to that and expect the two countries to reduce differences and join hands together as good neighbors. “I hope the leaders can express clearly what the people want," he said.
Economic cooperation will be another key theme of the upcoming visit. The current Japanese leader will reportedly bring a large delegation of business leaders to Beijing. The former PM suggested the two countries push forward collaboration between big enterprises, and then involve medium and small-sized ones. He also emphasized that the leaders' talks are a good opportunity for creating a favorable environment to expand non-governmental contacts.
The two East Asian countries are also set to boost their cooperation on infrastructure projects in other countries, especially under the Belt and Road Initiative. The Chinese government has announced it will hold a forum during Abe's visit to touch on that. And the two countries will closely work together in high-tech, fiscal and financial areas.
Yang Bojiang, deputy director of Institute for Japanese Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, explained that China and Japan have a mutual need that enables a stable relationship for decades.
He said the two countries signed the peace treaty on the common ground of being against hegemony as well as on China's opening-up. In the present decade, Japanese industries look for expanding markets while China's economic industrial development requires experience from Japan, in terms of energy conservation technologies and coping with an aging society.
Yasuo Fukuda also pointed out that China has realized it should strengthen high-quality growth from now on. “In the future, there will be more major changes in technologies, lifestyle, and the world situation. We need to get prepared to cope with these changes together,” he added.