Bo Xilai, China's Minister of Commerce, said that China's trade policy towards Japan remains unchanged, but reminded the prolonged "disharmony in political relations" between China and Japan would hurt bilateral trade and economic cooperation. (Photo: Xinhua)

    BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Bo Xilai, China's Minister of Commerce, said that China's trade policy towards Japan remains unchanged, but reminded the prolonged "disharmony in political relations" between China and Japan would hurt bilateral trade and economic cooperation.

    "The Chinese government holds a positive attitude towards enforcing China-Japan economic and trade cooperation," Bo said in an interview with local press, noting that in the era of economic globalization, developing economic and trade cooperation is the internal needs of China and Japan and benefits the fundamental interests of the two sides.

    Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao proposed three principles in March on the relations with Japan: taking history as a mirror and looking forward to the future; Japan should adhere to the one-China principle; cooperation should be strengthened to pursue common development.

    Bo quoted Wen as saying that the friendly cooperation between China and Japan has great potential, especially in economy and trade. He said that Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi alsosaid that China's economic growth is not a threat, but rather an opportunity.

    He said the two prime ministers' attitudes demonstrated the twogovernments' willingness of improving economic and trade cooperation.

    However, the minister noted that mutual-beneficial economic cooperation also needs the political foundation of mutual respect,warning that prolonged "disharmony in political relations" betweenChina and Japan will inevitably hurt bilateral trade and economic cooperation.

    The current situation of Sino-Japanese relations, which is described by some as "lukewarm in political arena but hot in economic area," cannot continue indefinitely, Bo predicted.

    In fact, Bo said initial signs have already emerged that the chilliness in political links does affect the warmth of economic ties.

    For 11 consecutive years up to 2003, Japan had remained as the top trade partner of China. However, its top position was replacedby the European Union (EU) and the United States last year. In 2004, the EU and the United States surpassed Japan in terms of bilateral trade volume with China. In terms of investment, the Republic of Korea (ROK) had already made more investment in China than Japan in 2004, Bo said.

    It is widely known that Japan is a big economic power and that China has maintained a rapid economic growth that releases its great market potential in recent years. In this context, Bo said it is truly regrettable that China and Japan, two close neighbors with highly complementary economies, have seen a slowdown in the pace of trade and economic cooperation.

    Improvement of Sino-Japanese relations requires joint efforts, Bo said.

    "We sternly demand the Japanese side live up to the commitment of squarely facing its aggressive history with concrete act and stop doing things that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people."

    Bo said the lukewarm situation of bilateral political relationsis what the people of the two countries do not want to see. On theother hand, hotness in economic links is what the two peoples are glad to see and in the common interests of the two peoples, Bo said.

    Bo said all generations of the Chinese leadership have placed high importance on developing good-neighborly, friendly and cooperative relations with Japan. This has become a basic foreign policy of China.

    "The fundamental reason for the abnormal phenomenon of lukewarmpolitical relations between China and Japan lies in the failure ofthe Japanese side to correctly deal with historical issues," Bo said.

    He said the Chinese people suffered greatly during Japan's invasion to China. "This basic fact cannot be covered and changed."

    "So long as Japan views history correctly and properly handles the problems in bilateral relations, the economic and trade cooperation between China and Japan will have a good future," he said.

    Bo noted that in recent years, the Japanese leader has insistedon paying visits to the Yasukuni Shrine that honors Class-A World War II criminals. In addition, the Japanese government recently gave the green light to the release of history text books glossingover Japan's aggressive past.

    "The Japanese side has caused strong dissatisfaction and indignation among the Chinese people with its wrongful comments and activities on a series of important issues and repeatedly hurtthe feelings of the Chinese people," Bo said.

    This is the root of the current abnormal phenomenon of lukewarmpolitical relations between the two countries, Bo said.

    Bo said in contrast with the lukewarm political relations, the economic circles of the two countries have always been active and keen on trade and economic cooperation, expecting and gaining different things from each other. He said sharing the consensus ofstrengthening trade and economic cooperation, the economic circlesof both countries cherish the hard-won state of mutually beneficial cooperation.

    In the same time, Bo expressed the hope that all sections of the Chinese society would proceed from the overall situation of Sino-Japanese relations and long-term interests of the two peoplesand jointly safeguard and actively promote the healthy developmentof trade and economic cooperation between the two countries. 

    As for the Japanese commodities boycott issue, Bo said some people have advocated to boycott Japanese commodities to express dissatisfaction with Japan's denial of its aggression history. In fact, on the sidelines of the economic globalization, the production factors have been allocated in accordance with the law of value, and nations have been interdependent in the economic development.

    Many famous Japanese brand goods are actually made by joint ventures, he said.

    He voiced the belief that the people of advocating the boycott would express their patriotism in a sensible way, safeguard the stability of society and put their patriotism in their work to push forward the economic development.

    He said the Chinese and Japanese peoples and economic circles have benefited from bilateral economic and trade relations, which is reciprocal.

    China's good environment for investment and great potential in market create favorable conditions for the Japanese enterprises inChina, which also made contributions to China's economic development, he said.

    He said that calculations show the Japanese enterprises in China have employed 9.2 million people, and in 2004 they paid taxes of 49 billion RMB(5.9 US dollars). Japanese businesses account for 9.1 percent of the total taxes paid by the foreign enterprises in China. The Japanese investors also benefited from China's economic development in return, he added.

    "We don't expect the economic and trade relations between the two countries to be infringed upon," he said.

    Bo said Chinese President Hu Jintao always emphasized that China should treat neighbors kindly and take neighbors as partnersand because of the attachment of the importance to Sino-Japanese economic and trade cooperation, China strongly urges the Japanese government to take measures to deal with the issue. This would create favorable environment for bilateral economic and trade relations.

    He said the Chinese government has been committed to building up sound environment for foreign investors and will protect the legal rights of all foreign companies in China.

    As a responsible country and an important member of the World Trade Organization, China will, as always, continue its opening-upand reform and promote the trade exchanges with all nations.

    "Commodities of all nations will receive a just treatment in Chinese market," he said, adding "we also hope Japanese business circles would do more to help further economic and trade cooperation to promote friendship between the two countries."

    Bo recalled former Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, who in 1995 expressed deep remorse and heartfelt apology for the damage and sufferings caused by the Japanese colonial rule and aggression to the Chinese and Asian people. The then Japanese Prime Minister also said that Japan will modestly look at this indisputable historic facts.

    Bo said if Japanese politicians can treat history issues properly with Murayama's attitude and be true to their words, the economic and trade cooperation will definitely have broad space ofdevelopment.

    China's economic opening-up has greatly boosted China's economic growth and this policy will remain 100 years without change, Bo said, quoting late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping.

    He said China cherishes the current favorable situation and will continue to seek common development with countries around theworld. "Of course, the aspiration for common development also covers the sincere cooperation with Japan's business circle."

    When asked to comment on the current situation of Sino-Japaneseeconomic and trade relations, Bo said that China and Japan have enjoyed rapid development of economic and trade relations since China began its reform and opening up more than 20 years ago, and benefits of the economic and trade cooperation between China and Japan, in general, is balanced to both sides.

    Thanks to such mutual benefits, Sino-Japanese economic and trade ties have witnessed quiet and substantial progress for more than 20 years. This has brought concrete advantages for the peopleboth countries, Bo noted.

    According to Bo, economic and trade relations with Japan, the United States and the European Union have composed three major parts of China's foreign trade. Bilateral trade volume between China and the three regions exceeded 160 billion US dollars last year.

    "Sino-Japanese economic and trade relations is crucial not onlyfor the two countries, but also influential for Asia and the worldat large," he acknowledged.

    China and Japan normalized bilateral relations in 1972. Bo saidthe bilateral trade volume nowadays has risen by 160 fold from that 33 years ago.

    China and Japan have become the largest import countries of origin for each other, he added. Japan is China's third largest export market, and China is Japan's second largest export market.

    Both sides also make wide cooperation in such fields as science,technology education and tourism, he said.

    The rapid development and scales gradually formed in the past over 20 years of Sino-Japanese economic and trade cooperation are rare even in the world's economic history, Bo said, noting this fact itself proves the strong complementarity between Chinese and Japanese economy.

    Bo said in a certain sense, such complementarity is decided by differences between the two countries' economic structure. China and Japan are close neighbors with similar culture, and also sharedisparities as well, so the two sides could supply each other's needs.

    As to the structure of essential factors of production, Bo saidJapan's funds and technology is needed for China's economic growth.Japan has become China's third largest source of attracting foreign investment. Japan is also a major source of China to import technology, ranking into first three places in recent year.

    Meanwhile, he noted China's huge market, thriving business opportunities, rich labor and intellectual resources are also especially helpful for Japan's economic growth.

    Statistics from the Japanese side show that Japan has increasedexport to China by a big margin in recent years, and China has become Japan's export market with the fastest growth.

    On the mix of import and export goods, Bo said, China's such export products to Japan as mining products, agricultural produce and textile, enjoy obvious advantages. All these above-mentioned goods accounted for over 43 percent of total export amounts to Japan last year.

    Bo went on to say that China mainly imports products intensive in capital and technology from Japan, such as information technology (IT) products and mechanical equipment. In 2004, China imported Japanese mechanical and electrical products with a value of 65.1 billion US dollars, or 69 percent of total import amounts from Japan. Among these products, high-new-tech products with a value of 29.8 billion US dollars accounted for 32 percent of totalimport amounts.

    "Facts have proved that Japan's economic recovery, to great extent, is benefited from economic and trade cooperation with China," Bo said, noting that economic and trade cooperation with Japan also plays a positive role in China's industrial restructuring and employment expansion.

    "Sino-Japanese economic and trade cooperation is conducive for the two sides to make up deficiencies, to complement each other inadvantages, and to achieve common development," Bo said. Enditem