China, Japan forge stronger links

The Japanese destroyer Sazanami made an historic visit to Zhanjiang this week, a port city in southern Guangdong Province, signaling what many analysts say is a breakthrough in economic relations.

The navy vessel with 240 crew members carried blankets, medical products and other supplies for survivors of China's devastating May 12 earthquake that killed more than 69,000 people.

The visit comes on the heels of a landmark deal last week between Tokyo and Beijing to jointly develop gas fields in the East China Sea, and an ice-breaking visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao to Japan in May.

Local residents said the port call was a promising sign of warming ties, but amid the words of welcome was an undertone of pride that China was increasingly dealing with Japan as an equal rather than a poor cousin. "Originally Japan had money and they bullied us, but now we've developed so much that even if they wanted to bully us, they couldn't," said Xing Chen, a local driver.

Beijing shows no sign of softening its underlying territorial claims in the East China Sea, which clash with those of Japan. "China does not accept the Japanese so-called 'median line'," in the East China Sea, insisted Wu Dawei, vice-foreign minister yesterday.

The two sides are also still far from agreement on regional security arrangements, says Zhu Feng of Peking University.

"There is not yet any great strategic depth to the relationship. What has happened has been an exercise of self-restraint to prevent the countries from entering on a collision course," Prof Zhu says.

Perhaps it is through trade that China and Japan can forge stronger links.