China and Japan on way to deepen cooperation

Editor's Note: Sino-Japanese relations have improved of late. But will the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan, on Friday and Saturday create greater scope for Sino-Japanese cooperation? Two experts share their views on the issue with China Daily's Pan Yixuan. Excerpts follow:

Both sides need to promote Multilateralism, free trade

Zhang Jingquan, vice-president of the School of Northeast Asia Studies and the Institute of International Studies, Shandong University 

China-Japan political relations were all but frozen until Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited China in October last year. Abe's visit not only thawed bilateral relations but also raised hopes that, heeding the call of the international community to promote multilateralism and free trade to counter the threat posed by unilateralism and protectionism, China and Japan would strengthen coordination and cooperation.

A free trade agreement among China, Japan and the Republic of Korea is one of the issues the three countries are likely to discuss on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. Although the China-Japan-ROK FTA was proposed in 2002, it is yet to become reality due to the lack of an agreement among the three sides, except for a trilateral secretariat being established in the ROK in 2011. If the three countries can accelerate the negotiation process and finalize the FTA, it will inject vigor into trilateral economic cooperation and regional development, especially at a time when economic globalization is facing serious challenges.

China and Japan could start by expanding maritime cooperation, including maritime environmental protection, ocean governance and scientific expeditions. Staying clear of maritime issues that could pose a threat to each other's national security, the two sides could focus on matters of common interests to expand maritime cooperation.

Besides, the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative can be helpful in expanding regional cooperation in Northeast Asia. Cooperation between the second-and third-largest economies of the world under the Belt and Road framework will not only boost regional development but also allow Japan to play a bigger role in the initiative's progress.