The Fourth Japan-China Dialogue Convened
"Future Prospect of East Asian Community and Japan-China Relationship"

The Global Forum of Japan (GFJ) and the China Association for International Friendly Contact (CAIFC), with the cooperation of the Council on East Asian Community (CEAC) and the financial support of the Tokyo Club, co-sponsored the Fourth Japan-China Dialogue on the theme of "Future Prospect of East Asian Community and Japan-China Relationship" on September 16-17, 2004 in Tokyo. After a welcome dinner on the evening of September 16 hosted by Mr. OKAWARA Yoshio, Chairman of GFJ, lively discussions in Sessions I and II, a Lecture Luncheon, and a Roundtable Dinner hosted by Prof. ITO Kenichi, President of CEAC, ensued on the 17th amongst the 124 participants.

The Concept of an Economic Community and the Role of Japan and China

Session I on the 17th was chaired by Mr. JIMBO Ken, Governor of GFJ, with the theme of "The Concept of East Asian Community and the Role of Japan and China" being deliberated.

Mr. SONG Zhiyong, Deputy Director, Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, Ministry of Commerce, began proceedings with his keynote speech in which he stated that, "As a result of the 1997 Asian Currency Crisis, East Asian countries rediscovered the importance of regional economic cooperation. An East Asian Community would improve the position of the Asian economy in the world economy. Although there exist problems in the region towards community building such as gaps in the levels of economic development, China and Japan should strive for building mutual confidence." After that, Prof. WATANABE Toshio, Faculty of International Development, Takushoku University, made a second keynote speech, stating that, " 'Asia is Asianizing'. As a result of growing trade dependency in East Asia, intraregional investments by multinational corporations (MNCs) are becoming denser. China and Japan should play central roles for East Asian integration, but China needs industrial structural reforms."

In response to the keynote speeches, commentators put forward their opinions for and/or against those speeches. "A common recognition of an East Asian Community has been established for the last few years. Promotion of FTAs is an example of its good start, and the role of China and Japan is important," said Mr. ZHOU Xinzheng, Director, Division of East Asian, Center for Peace and Development Studies, CAIFC. gChina has switched to an omnidirectional diplomacy, which includes mitigation of the sense of threat to its neighboring countries. Japan should take it positively. There would be one way to solve problems between Japan and China in the framework of multilateral cooperation,h said Mr. SATO Yoshiyasu, Advisor of Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc.

Towards Political and Security Cooperation in East Asia

In Session II, Dr. GAO Yuan, Member, Board of Directors, Chinese Society for History Studies of Sino|Japanese Relations assumed the role of Chairman with "Towards Political and Security Cooperation in East Asia" being the topic for debate. The keynote speeches were given by Prof. KOJIMA Tomoyuki, Faculty of Policy Management, Keio University, who stated that, "The trend towards East Asian regional integration is gaining more momentum not only in economics but also in the political and security fields, as the progress of ASEAN+3 and ARF's transition to the stage of preventive diplomacy indicate. On the other hand, the problems left behind are the remnants of the Cold War structure, concerns for the future of China, and the lack of strategies and prospects of Japan." and Mr. REN Qimin, Research Fellow, Institute of American Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, who stated that, "Various multilateral security dialogues are being institutionalized in the East Asian region. With comprehensive and cooperative security as a basic stance, China is promoting the "Mu-lin, An-lin, Fu-lin" (friendship, peace and prosperity with neighbors) policy. Security cooperation in the age of globalization should be worthily open and nonexclusive."

In response to the keynote speeches, commentators put forward their opinions for and/or against the keynote speeches. "Regional integration should facilitate cultural as well as economic and security relationships," said Mr. HAYASHI Yoshimasa, Member of the House of Councillors of Japan. "The rise of China is going through a peaceful process. With the new prospect of security development, China will not be hegemonistic," commented Ms. CEN Ting, Director, Division of Asian & Pacific, Center for Peace and Development Studies.

In the Lecture Luncheon, Dr. PIAO Jianyi, Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, gave a speech on the theme of "Six-Party Talks Process and the Role of China and Japan" and said that "In addition to pressure from the U.S., the approach by China and Japan is also important in solving the problem of North Korean nuclear development. They should persuade North Korea to stop taking a hard-line stance and improve its relationships with neighboring countries. In addition, China and Japan should support unification of the Korean Peninsula.

All shorthand notes of this dialogue in Japanese are available on the web (http://www.gfj.jp).