China and Japan should enhance dialogue and work together to build a strategic relationship of mutual benefit

The China-Japan relationship is at a crucial period and faces both opportunities and challenges. The common interests between the two countries far outweigh the differences and disputes. And the opportunities far exceed the challenges.

Both countries should bear in mind the general trend in the world, follow the tide of the times, work together to seize opportunities and overcome challenges with a view to bringing the China-Japan strategic relationship of mutual benefit to a new high and move bilateral relations forward in a sound and stable manner. To this end, it is important to adhere to the following three principles:

The first principle is peace. Both China and Japan should adhere to peaceful development and support each other's peaceful development. This is the important political understanding reached during President Hu Jintao's visit to Japan in 2008. I would like to stress that China is committed to the path of peaceful development and unswervingly pursues the win-win strategy of opening-up and the foreign policy of fostering friendship and partnership with neighboring countries. China follows a defense policy that is defensive in nature and never seeks hegemony or external expansion.

These are not abstract or empty slogans. They are the strategic choice and solemn commitment to the international community made by the Chinese government in keeping with the trend of the times, China's historical and cultural heritage, values, national conditions and fundamental interests. Japan has been following a path of peaceful development since the end of World War II and has made remarkable achievements that have brought huge benefits to the Japanese people. We hope that Japan will continue to tap into its own advantages and play a constructive role for regional peace and development.

The two countries should further enhance political mutual trust, especially in the field of security, and should view and treat each other's development in an objective and rational manner, and foster and enhance a sense of partnership. It has been confirmed in the fourth political document on the China-Japan relationship that the two countries are cooperative partners and do not pose a threat to each other. The two countries should honor the commitment with concrete actions and make the important political understanding a consensus of the general public.

To this end, the two countries should step up political and security dialogues and exchanges. They should communicate in a timely and candid manner and enhance dialogue on major issues in bilateral relations, domestic and foreign policies and development objectives, so as to deepen trust, dispel misperceptions and prevent any strategic misjudgment.

The two countries should bear in mind the larger picture and properly manage sensitive issues, especially maritime and territorial disputes. Differences and disputes are hardly avoidable between neighbors having such close contacts as China and Japan. We should draw from the great political wisdom with which the older generation of political leaders in both countries approached the serious difficulties and obstacles our countries encountered as we tried to re-establish, improve and develop our relations after the end of World War II. History tells us that when it comes to sensitive issues, we should always bear in mind the larger picture of bilateral relations and address such issues through dialogue and coordination, manage disputes and frictions well, and keep to the right direction of bilateral relations.

We should appropriately manage the issue of the Diaoyu Islands according to the spirit of the important consensus reached by leaders of the older generation and the existing understanding of the two sides. At the same time, we should speed up the establishment of a management and control mechanism for maritime crises so that similar incidents will not happen again and cause serious disruptions to the overall bilateral ties.

The second principle is cooperation. China and Japan are partners rather than potential rivals. The two countries should strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation at bilateral, regional and global levels and keep expanding common interests in pursuit of shared opportunities, common development and common prosperity.

In bilateral relations, we should promote business cooperation as well as economic transformation and modernization. To follow the trends of global economic development in the post-crisis era, we should strengthen cooperation in energy, the environment, a green and low-carbon economy, circular economy, and high and new technology. We should strive to launch big demonstration cooperative projects.

In Asia, we should work together for a new chapter in regional cooperation. With accelerated regional cooperation in Asia, China and Japan, two major countries in this region, need to leverage our respective advantages, strengthen coordination and cooperation, increase converging interests and join hands to build a better Asia.

First, we should stay in close touch on major issues concerning the future configuration of regional cooperation and work together on a blueprint for the development of Asia. Second, we need to vigorously pursue regional economic integration and promote joint research on a China-Japan-ROK Free Trade Area (FTA), the building of an East Asia FTA and regional financial cooperation. We need to explore practical cooperation on connectivity in Asia and the development of the Mekong sub-region so that regional cooperation will always move on the track of mutual benefit. Third, both countries should commit themselves to pushing forward the process of Six-Party Talks and building a peace mechanism in Northeast Asia, upholding peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and should contribute to the denuclearization of the peninsula and long-term peace and stability of the region.

Globally, we should strengthen coordination and cooperation in international affairs. The two countries need to make the best use of such multilateral platforms as the UN, the G20 and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), stay in touch and coordinate with each other on global economic stability, the reform of the international financial system and improvement of global economic governance, and support each other in opposing trade protectionism. We need to carry out mutually beneficial cooperation on the UN Millennium Development Goals and global issues such as climate change, counter-terrorism, natural disasters and epidemic diseases. As two large importers of resources and energy, China and Japan need to encourage domestic businesses to conduct strategic cooperation in resource development, pricing, transportation and other issues.

The third principle is amity. The over-two-thousand-year friendly exchanges between China and Japan have established a deep foundation for the friendship between our two peoples. It is the joint aspiration of both the Chinese and Japanese people to pass on this friendship from generation to generation. In response to the declining positive sentiments between the two peoples, the two countries, with a strengthened sense of urgency, should further increase their efforts, adopt various measures and strive to turn the situation around as soon as possible.

We should keep innovating exchanges and enrich their content. Common cultural values should be championed. Popular culture and cooperation in the creative industry have a role to play in promoting cultural exchanges that can resonate with the public, encourage public participation and strengthen the bonds between our two peoples.

We should work together to foster an objective and friendly media environment. The two sides need to provide media groups with more upbeat, positive and objective information so as to enable understanding and form virtuous interactions between the Chinese and the Japanese peoples.

The author is a former state councilor of China. The article is an excerpt of his speech at the 4th China-Japan Forum on Jan 11.