No Progress Anyway

Thirsty for progress in relation with China, media got excited with a news of Japan’s delegation of lawmakers to have met with a highly ranked official in Chinese government in Beijing. When they transferred willingness of Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, to meet with Chinese President, Xi Jinping, in November, the Chinese official replied with simple words, “I will tell him it.” That’s it. Where was the progress, anyway?

The delegation from Japan consisted of multi-partisan lawmakers led by vice-president of Liberal Democratic Party and former Foreign Minister, Masahiko Komura. Nine members included former Foreign Minister of the administration of Democratic Party of Japan, Katsuya Okada, and vice-president of New Komeito, Kazuo Kitagawa. They had a meeting with the Chairman of National People’s Congress, Zhang Dejiang, ranked at third from the top following Xi and the Premier, Li Keqiang.

Zhang welcomed the delegation with compliment. “It is reflection of determination of improving Chinese-Japan relationship that a delegation visited China in there difficult circumstances,” told Zhang. Komura replied with his notion that current relationship between the two nations had not been strategic mutual reciprocity, but strategic mutual deficiency.

After those diplomatic exchanges, however, Zhang got straightforward. “It is Japan’s responsibility that current deterioration of China-Japan relationship. We want to see action to get rid of it,” Zhang asked with criticism on Abe’s visit to Yasukuni Shrine. “Most Japanese think that they were aggressor and the Chinese were victims in unhappy past. Abe is not an exception,” replied Komura. The exchange of views highlighted great distance between the two nations.

Diplomats in Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarded China’s hospitality as an appearance of expectation for better relationship. On the other hand, it is a common notion that Chinese government attempted to show a contrast between Abe and other lawmakers to emphasize their frustration against Abe. In terms of interpretation of history, the Chinese leaders had never shown a sign of compromise.

When the delegation was making an effort to schedule the leaders talk in November, Abe harshly accused China of its unilateral change of status quo in East and South China Sea in his speech at North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Escalation of criticism is not an exercise of strategic mutual reciprocity. Moreover, Xi is not in a circumstance to show any appeasement to Japan, when he has to soar Chinese nationalism to make people less aware of internal terrorisms. Even though the Chinese leaders welcomed Japanese lawmakers, it did not mean a diplomatic progress.