The ＂Abe/Aso Regime＂ and Sino-Japanese Relations

Following the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party＇s victory in the December 2012 election, some Japanese analysts pointed out that the new Abe/Aso Govemment would introduce rightist policies, and that as such it would be more difficult for China and Japan to improve their bilateral relations. As expected, in the past six months since its coming to power, the Abe cabinet has vigorously promoted so-called ＂Abe economics＂ and implemented a quantitative easing monetary policy that has caused a drastic depreciation of the Japanese Yen. In order to revise the ＂Constitution of Japan＂, in July 2013 it has been striving to win the election of the Senate. Externally, the new cabinet members have frequently visited foreign countries, implementing a diplomatic strategy of containing and countering China. One of its aims is to completely rid itself of the shackles of World War II and to try to reconstruct powerful military forces. The Diaoyu Islands issue has been used by the Abe cabinet to serve its domestic and foreign policy objectives,     

A Comparative Analysis of Abe＇s and Fukuda＇s Asia Diplomacy

As Abe was replaced by Fukuda, Japan＇s domestic and foreign policies were also amended. Abe＇s ＂proactive diplomacy＂ has been replaced by Fukuda＇s ＂synergy diplomacy＂ which emphasizes strengthening the Japan-U.S. alliance and Japan＇s ties with Asia. Abe＇s diplomacy toward Asia was characterized by ＂value oriented diplomacy＂, whereas Fukuda seeks to carry out ＂active diplomacy toward Asia＂ after his cabinet was formed. The changes in foreign policy of the Abe and Fukuda cabinets show that Japan＇s nationalist foreign policy is evolving in twists and turns from being radical to being more rational against the backdrop of domestic and international political reality. To explore this change and its causes is conducive to the better understanding of some features of Japan＇s diplomacy toward Asia.     

Japan＇s Diplomacy in Central Asia

Japan＇s diplomacy in Central Asia started in the wake of the disintegration of the Soviet Union. After years of efforts, Japan＇s strategy on Asia was formed and its diplomacy in Central Asia entered a stage of steady growth. Though having scored some achievements, Japan still has some marked limitations as far as its Central Asia diplomacy is concerned. In the foreseeable future, Japan will still find it hard to become a main player on the stage of Central Asia diplomacy.     

China＇s Diplomacy： New Trends and New Characteristics

In the 60 years since the founding of the People＇s Republic of China, the country has pursued a peace-oriented foreign policy. After the end of the Beijing Olympics in October 2008, China＇s foreign relations began to take on a new look. The country now participates more actively in global and regional issues, forging multilateral and bilateral relationships, and entering into discussions on maritime rights and military strategy. It could be said that China is now showing more initiative, independence, confidence, transparency and a greater sense of responsibility, and strengthening cooperation with all partners. These changes are mainly due to China＇s increasing comprehensive national strength and its need to integrate into the international system in a peaceful and harmonious manner with benefits to all. China has redefined its identity and reassessed its interests. These changes are ongoing, and the nation＇s diplomacy is still not perfect, but the general direction has now been set.     

Some Thoughts on Deepening Economic Diplomacy

Since the founding of the People＇s Republic of China, the nation has paid a great deal of attention to economic diplomacy. In particular, since the launch of the reform and opening-up policy and its accession to the World Trade Organization, China has made great achievements in economic diplomacy, which has grown and improved in terms of patterns, objectives and contents. In the 21st century, globalization offers both opportunities and challenges, and international economic cooperation and competition have played an important role in foreign relations. Economic diplomacy has been increasingly important in terms of diplomacy. As we encounter new problems and face new challenges, we urgently require new breakthroughs in economic diplomacy.     

An Analysis on the Politics and Diplomacy of the Hatoyama Cabinet

A new chapter began in Japan＇s political history when Yukio Hatoyama and his Democratic Party （DPJ） replaced the long-governing Liberal Democratic Party （LDP）, thus creating the long-contemplated structure of alternate rule by the two major political parties. Attaching more importance to independence in diplomacy, the Hatoyama Cabinet is expected to stand for a repositioning of its relations with the United States and make greater diplomatic efforts in Asia with the focus on building an East Asian Community so as to adapt to the evolving international relations in the Asia-Pacific region.     

Editor＇s Note

China has attached great importance in handling relations in neighborhood as the work of diplomacy with its neighbors is incredibly heavy, since the founding of the People＇s Republic of China. Zheng Ruixiang, Senior Research Fellow at China Institute of International Studies, made an account of the great achievements of China＇s diplomacy in neighborhood in his article Creating a Peaceful and Stable Neighboring Environment.     

China＇s Relations with Africa： Building a Harmonious World

The Sino-African relationship is one of the most important inter-continental relationships in the world. It is unique both in its origin and evolution and plays an important role on the world stage. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in the mid-1950s, traditional, friendly and cooperative relations between China and African countries have developed rapidly, reaching an historic high in 2000 when both sides proclaimed the establishment of a new type of strategic partnership. Transcending Western traditional value and logic of thinking, such as the supremacy of international interests and power control, Sino-African relations have created a new model in international relations, featuring equality, peaceful coexistence and friendly cooperation. This promotes African development and the democratization process in both international relations and the global community. From China＇s perspective, it spreads China＇s idea of harmonious culture and harmonious diplomacy, thus promoting world peace and development, and contributing towards building a harmonious world.     

＂Deindustrialization＂ and Sino-Brazilian Ties

After the global financial crisis broke out in 2008, major industrial economies became concerned about delndustrlahzation . The important roles that the industrial sector plays in creating jobs and ensuring intemational competitiveness began to be recognized again. The U.S. launched its policy of ＂re-industrialization＂ and Brazil published a plan to develop its industrial sector between 2011 and 2014. China＇s industrial sector has rapidly developed. ＂Deindustrialization＂ sparked widespread concern because it is connected with the global distribution of technological capability and the future global economic order. It is noteworthy that the U.S., Brazil and some other major economies partly blamed China for the problems that ＂deindustrialization＂ has caused and this has had an increasing effect on China＇ s relations with these countries. It reflects China＇ s problem as a new manufacturing power. In this article, the author analyzes those political and economic factors associated with ＂deindustrialization＂ and makes some suggestions for the Sino-Brazilian strategic partnership. In this way, the author explores some ideas on establishing a new type of big power relations.     

Implications of a ＂Warm Spring＂ in China-Japan Relations

President Hu Jintao＇s visit to Japan is very fruitful. During the visit, leaders of the two countries built new framework for the bilateral relations and depicted the blueprint for future development. The readjustment of relations are pushed forward both by the dramatic changes in the world as well as the new developments within the two countries. However, the China-Japan relation is too complex to be improved with only one visit. There are still many things waiting to be done in future.     

Evolvement of New China＇s Relations with Other Developing Countries

China＇s relationship with other developing countries is an important basis for China＇s foreign strategy. Since its founding, New China has accumulated complex experience and achieved rich fruits in how to handle and develop its relations with other developing countries. It has experienced contradictions between ideology and national identity and also made strenuous efforts to safeguard the country＇s strategic independence. Since the introduction of the reform and opening-up policy, China has rapidly enhanced its national strength, providing a new platform for it to play a greater role in the current international system. But China＇s identity as a developing country remains the starting point of its foreign strategy, and hence promoting and consolidating its relationship with other developing countries will also remain as China＇s strategic choice.     

China's New Neighboring Diplomacy

China＇s new thinking about neighboring diplomacy in Asia since the end of Cold War can be analyzed theoretically from angle of international institutions. China utilizes institutionalism with great flexibility in four sub-regions-Central Asia, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia, where institutional models-dominant participation, deep participation, active participation and moderate participation models have been adopted. In the four sub-regions in Asia, China has handled the presence of U.S interests well and responded reasonably to the United States＇ Asian diplomacy. China and the United States have therefore achieved a compatible coexistence in Asia. Compatibility and coexistence between China and the United States in Asia are the fundamental reasons that China has made progress in this new stage, and are the essence of the new thinking in China＇s neighboring diplomacy.     

Why Is the Abe Government so Anxious to Improve Relations with China？-Why Is Shinzo Abe so Eager to Improve Relations with China？

Editor＇s Note： Sino-Japanese relations have been tense in recent years. In Jparticular, since Abe came to power, Japan has not only been ＂desperately struggling＂ with China on territorial and historical issues, but has also tried to set up an ＂encircling network＂ against China. Thus Sino-Japanese relations have emerged as the most risky bilateral relations in the Asia-Pacific region. As the two largest powers in East Asia, and the world＇s second and third largest economies, the continuing confrontation between China and Japan will have huge negative repercussions on regional and global peace. With the approaching of the APEC meeting, however, the Abe government has repeatedly expressed its hopes for diplomatic dialogue with China. The Abe government＇s shift in attitude towards China from ＂hard＂ to a new ＂moderate＂ position has attracted wide international attention. We cannot help but ask：     

An Analysis of China's Power Status and International Standing

Many Chinese scholars have described China as the world＇s second biggest power after the U.S.. This is based on two facts. First, China overtook Japan in total economic output measured by GDP in 2010 to become the world＇s second biggest economy. Some scholars argue that China still lags behind the U.S. in comprehensive national power and in this sense it is also ranked second） The other is that Sino-U.S. relations are frequently described as the rise and fall of big powers, especially when referring to the Asia-Pacific region. It is the latest example of how relations between a rising power and one struggling to maintain its status have been so complex in the long history of international relations. While many people talk about the possibility that China will overtake the U.S. in the future, others talk about a G2.2 If we look closely at global trends and changes to China＇ s international environment, if we examine what exactly we mean by power status, we will have a much deeper understanding of China＇ s current power status from which we can build a solid foundation for this country＇ s foreign strategy and diplomacy.     

Thinking on the Theory of "China’s Century"

As China’s economy and global influence increase,its international relations are quickly changing.As more credence is given to predictions of a"China Century"to follow the"American Century,"interest is also increasing in the adjustments China is making to its strategic diplomacy as it prepares to take the first chair from the United States.The conceptual innovation in China’s diplomacy in 2014 is a significant harbinger in the eyes of many as to how this China Century will shape up.While China’s new diplomacy is praised,opinion differs on its future intentions.After a series of proposals were put forward at summit meetings of CICA(Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in     

New Features of the Surrounding International Environment and China＇s Response

In constructing China＇s strategic diplomatic configuration, we often stress -that ＂major power relations are critical, the surrounding areas are the policy priorities, developing countries are the foundation, and the multilateral relations are important arena＂. After the CPC 18th National Congress, ＂public diplomacy＂ and ＂global governance＂ were also defined as the new orientation in China＇s diplomatic efforts. In designing China＇s diplomatic strategy, we have always considered the major powers and surrounding areas to be our diplomatic priority. The reality is the same.     

Chinas ＂Host Diplomacy＂： Opportunities

When asked for his outlook on China＇s 2014 diplomacy at a press conference in early 2014, Foreign Minister Wang Yi listed w the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia （CICA） and the informal summit meeting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation （APEC）, both of which are in China this year, as the country＇s two key diplomatic events in 2014. He labeled these two events as examples of China＇s so-called ＂hosr diplomacy.＂     

China-Japan Security Relations and China's Countermeasures

Security relations are crucial in China-Japan relations.Since the "nationalization" of the Diaoyu Islands by Japan in 2012,mutual trust between China and Japan has been declining,and bilateral security relations have reached a low point.China-Japan security relations are typified by ongoing dispute over the Diaoyu Islands,lack of mutual trust exacerbated by various actions by Japan,and the delay of China-Japan security dialogues.The evolution of China-Japan security relations derived from the Diaoyu Islands dispute is clearly beyond the scope of the dispute itself,with deep-rooted internal and external factors.In the near future,China-Japan security relations will face more challenges than opportunities.China should take measures,including enhancing mutual trust in politics and security between the two countries,to impose necessary pressure on Japan to change course,to win over neighboring countries so as to avoid pretext for Japan's intervention in regional issues,and to strengthen interpersonal communication and understanding between people of the two countries in order to stabilize security relations.     

Prospects for Sino-Russian Relations and China＇s National Interests in the Next Decade

The next 5-10 years will be a pivotal period in which China will implement its ＂ 11 th Five-Year Plan＂ and accelerate its construction of ＂ a moderately prosperous society.＂ It will also be an important period for Russia＇s resurgence. Sino-Russian relations are therefore facing new challenges and will be steadily developing. Under these new circumstances, clearly defining China＇s national interests in Sino-Russian relations will be an important prerequisite of ensuring the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations and of safeguarding China＇s peace and security. For the foreseeable future, China＇s national interests in Sino- Russian relations will be the further consolidation of mutual trust between the two countries and increasing Sino-Russian security cooperation so as to maintain peace and security in China ＇s northern border areas. As the two countries are both in a phase of social transformation, they can nevertheless learn from each other throughout this process. China will continue promoting diversity of cultures and the multi-polarization of world. China should also exploit Sino-Russian economic cooperation and try to frame a joint strategy with Russia in order to achieve common development and prosperity. Consequently, the two countries will be able to march forward side by side along the path of economic reforms and structural adjustment.＂ In the 21st Century, China and Russia not only need to maintain a good neighbor relationship and guarantee their joint security, but also build a closer cooperation in their common development.     

Reflections on New China＇s Diplomacy in the Past 60 Years

On October 1, 1949, the People＇s Republic of China was found-ed, thus opening up a new era in the historical development of the Chinese nation and initiating the glorious and spectacular historic course of New China＇s diplomacy. In the past 60 years, the theory and practice of China＇s diplomacy, transcending the state-centered perspective and the Western traditional diplomatic concepts of ＂equilibrium＂, ＂power＂, ＂containment＂,＂interference＂, ＂alliance＂, ＂geopolitics＂ and ＂sphere of influence＂, have adhered to the scientific spirit, grasped the trends of the times and embodied the common aspirations of mankind.