At the beginning of March, China and Japan reached an agreement to give priority to the Coronary Virus epidemic, and decided to postpone the schedule of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit.Through diplomatic channels, the two parties will closely coordinate the state visits to ensure that access is realized in the most suitable timing, environment, and atmosphere, and achieved more results.
Because both countries are at a critical moment when the coronary virus epidemic is at the critical virus, it should cooperate to fight against the epidemic and protect the safety and health of the people as the first priority. Obviously, the current timing, environment and atmosphere are not the most suitable.However, if we observe the public opinion response to Xi Jinping's state -visits in Japan since last year, we will find that the Abe Cabinet has made a delayed interview decision, and the anti -epidemic is just the last straw.
In October 2018, Abe visited China and proposed Sino -Japanese relations to develop a new era.In June 2019, the leaders of the two countries reached a 10 -point consensus to promote the development of relations between the two countries at the G20 summit in Osaka.Abe invited Xi Jinping in the spring of 2020 to conduct a state visit to Japan. Xi Jinyuan accepted invitations.
This is a favorable opportunity for the development of relations between the two countries to return to normal tracks and promote the development of strategic mutual benefit.They used the differences between China and Japan and the internal problems of China to create new incidents for the gradual improvement of Sino -Japanese relations, and associated it with Xi Jinping's state affairs.
One is to hype Hong Kong's topic interference in China's internal affairs.Since the street violence protests broke out in Hong Kong in June 2019, the Japanese parliament and non -governmental conservative forces have been actively involved in Hong Kong issues.The Youth Democratic Promotion Association (YDPA), composed of members of the county -level parliament members of Japan, launched joint activities to interfere in Hong Kong affairs and believe in the Foreign Minister Kono Kono, asking the Japanese government to express their opinions against the amendments to the revision of the fugitives in Hong Kong.
The Japanese Conservative Councilor Alliance guards the Japanese dignity and national interests through resolutions that if China does not change the suppression of Hong Kong's democratic struggle and pay attention to human rights, it is not welcome to visit Xi Jinping.Senator Qingshan Qingqing, the director of the Alliance, also submitted a resolution to the government, asking the Prime Minister's residence to attach importance to the internal opposition theory of the Liberal Democratic Party.
After the US President Trump officially signed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democratic Acts, the three communities of Japan's YDPA, PNIKA, and Code for Japan initiated the campaign again, asking members of the Japanese Parliament to discuss the Japanese version of Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Acts.
The second is to use Japanese scholars to abduct the normal academic exchanges between China and Japan.According to Japanese media reports, since 2015, at least 14 Japanese have been detained for suspected spy in China.In September 2019, the professor of Hokkaido University of Hokkaido will be detained in violation of Chinese law, and the Japanese government and academic circles have a strong response.When Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan went to Japan to participate in the throne ceremony of the Emperor, Abe asked China to actively respond.
Subsequently, Japan's Thinking of more than 40 scholars and professors of the New Japan -China Relations Research Association issued a joint statement in accusing China.They did not reflect on the improper behavior of violating Chinese law, but linked this incident with the national image of China and the strategic trust in China and Japan, and suspended some of the normal academic exchanges between China and Japan to pressure China.
The third is that the pupil of the Diaoyu Islands is inconsistent with the improvement of Sino -Japanese relations.The normal and reasonable moves of the waters around the Diaoyu Islands of Chinese dispatch of official ships, after statistics and media reports of the Japanese Sea Insurance Agency, some conservative forces have pointed out that the number of Chinese official ships entered Japan in 2019 in 201914 times, more than 100 activities in adjacent waters per month, and the frequency has reached a record high.
In December, the Japanese Folk Think Tank Strategic Research Forum submitted an opinion to Abe auxiliary official Muhara, accusing China of although it has a softening situation in Japan, but its hostility has not changed at all.They exaggerate China's security threats, demanding that Japan strengthen its alert situation to prevent China from using force to occupy the Diaoyu Islands.
The fourth is to worry about inviting state affairs to visit the harm of the Japan -US alliance.Japan's mainstream conservative forces pay attention to strengthening the relationship between Japan and the United States.The US Trump administration has positioned China as a strategic competitor and requires the support and cooperation of the allies.Some conservatives are worried that Japan entertains Xi Jinping in the form of national guests, which means that Japan has adopted friendly policies for China.This is contrary to Trump's competitive policy in China, and it may increase the difficulty of coordination of Japan and the United States.
From the perspective of conservatives, not only the basic national interests and values between China and the United States are different, but the international order led by the United States also fundamentally faces China's challenges.China and the United States are competing from cooperation, and the space for contact between the two sides is constantly narrowing.The United States may not invite Xi Jinping to visit Japan.
In this situation, they opposed the government's treatment to entertain Xi Jinping, thinking that this would cause misunderstandings to the world, that is, Japan chose to stand on the side of China and support China.Based on this, they asked the government to make a wise judgment, reflect the perseverance of politicians, and cancel the state visits and the emperor reception.These reflect a considerable part of Japan's conservative forces, and some of them are inside the Liberal Democratic Party.
At the same time, the Japanese media's negative reports on the situation have also greatly affected the attitude of public opinion in Japan to China.In September 2019, according to the global survey of the United States, Japan has a negative attitude towards China as high as 85%, and only 14%of the positive attitude.It can be said that the domestic atmosphere in Japan is not suitable for Xi Jinping's state visits.
This time, since the outbreak of the Coronatte Virus in Wuhan, China, all sectors of Japan have generously aid China from the central and local governments to non -governmental organizations and enterprises, winning the wide praise and goodwill of the Chinese government and the people.Continuous improvement is given higher expectations.However, this good atmosphere has not continued to ferment in Japan, forming a warm current that improves Japan's negative cognition of China, and shows the feelings of the two countries' joint anti -epidemic, destiny and co -coexistence.
From the inaction of the early response to the epidemic to the highly criticized response policies, the practices of Abe's cabinet have caused a strong rebound in Japan's domestic negative emotions; coupled with the political scandal of the cabinet since last year, they have constituted great political pressure on Abe Cabinet.At the same time, Japan ’s epidemic assistance and treatment method of China also triggered the people’ s unhappiness.Yuan) Support China and so on.These have exacerbated the atmosphere of state -owned business visits that are no longer in the industry.
To this end, China and Japan decided to delay the access of access at this time, which can ensure that the two countries focus on the treatment of domestic epidemic affairs, and carry out an opportunity to carry out international public health cooperation with resistance.The dissatisfaction of the Chinese and Japanese epidemic cooperation is difficult to help with each other, and the actual results are prepared for Xi Jinping's state -affairs visits with actual results.
Of course, in the future, China and Japan will fully understand and prepare for the complexity and arduousness of the issues that affect bilateral relations.The direction of shelving the differences, using more meaningful results to lay the foundation for Xi Jinping's successful visit to Japan.
(The author is an assistant researcher at the Institute of International Issues of Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences)
