This book is a study of ties between China and Japan and their Asian counterparts. It does not therefore directly treat bilateral relations between these powers, as these already constitute the subject of many other studies. A lengthy perspective has been taken into account in order to recall past legacies, some of which are still painfully contentious, and to record evolutions in attitudes and strategies vis- -vis Asian countries.

A Financial Times “Summer Books” Selection “Will become required reading.” —Times Literary Supplement “Elegantly written...with a confidence that comes from decades of deep research on the topic, illustrating how influence and power have waxed and waned between the two countries.” —Rana Mitter, Financial Times China and Japan have cultural and political connections that stretch back fifteen hundred years, but today their relationship is strained. China’s military buildup deeply worries Japan, while Japan’s brutal occupation of China in World War II remains an open wound. In recent years both countries have insisted that the other side must openly address the flashpoints of the past before relations can improve. Boldly tackling the most contentious chapters in this long and tangled relationship, Ezra Vogel uses the tools of a master historian to examine key turning points in Sino–Japanese history. Gracefully pivoting from past to present, he argues that for the sake of a stable world order, these two Asian giants must reset their relationship. “A sweeping, often fascinating, account...Impressively researched and smoothly written.” —Japan Times “Vogel uses the powerful lens of the past to frame contemporary Chinese–Japanese relations...[He] suggests that over the centuries—across both the imperial and the modern eras—friction has always dominated their relations.” —Sheila A. Smith, Foreign Affairs

A rich empirical account of China's foreign economic policy towards Japan after World War Two, drawing on hundreds of recently declassified Chinese sources. Amy King offers an innovative conceptual framework for the role of ideas in shaping foreign policy, and examines how China's Communist leaders conceived of Japan after the war. The book shows how Japan became China's most important economic partner in 1971, despite the recent history of war and the ongoing Cold War divide between the two countries. It explains that China's Communist leaders saw Japan as a symbol of a modern, industrialised nation, and Japanese goods, technology and expertise as crucial in strengthening China's economy and military. For China and Japan, the years between 1949 and 1971 were not simply a moment disrupted by the Cold War, but rather an important moment of non-Western modernisation stemming from the legacy of Japanese empire, industry and war in China.

3 From Asian financial crisis to Jiang Zemin's visit to Japan -- 4 Development of multilateral diplomacy and increase of frictions -- 6 Japan-China relations at the start of the twenty-first century: the rocky path to a strategic mutually beneficial relationship -- 1 From start of the Koizumi administration to start of the Hu Jintao administration -- 2 Yasukuni visit problem and anti-Japanese protests -- 3 Formation, development, and limits of strategic mutually beneficial relations -- 4 Japan-China GDP trading places and Senkaku Islands -- 7 The current state of Japan-China relations: navigating a fragile relationship -- 1 Start of new administrations and stagnation of Japan-China relations -- 2 Political bargaining over Japan-China summit at Beijing APEC -- 3 Japan-China relations 70 years after the war's end -- Guide to further reading in English -- Chronology of key events -- Index -- Index of names

As the balance of power in Asia shifts, relations among China, Japan, and the United States are becoming increasingly important for the future of the region as well as for the rest of the world. Trilateral relationships tend to be unstable, but the dynamics of China-Japan-U.S. relations are further complicated by historical enmities, differing systems of governance, competition in the economic and security realms, and growing interdependence. While most studies of these countries focus on their bilateral ties, "Getting the Triangle Straight" turns its attention to the ways in which they relate to one another in a trilateral context. In this volume, three leading experts from China, Japan, and the United States are joined by nine younger, emerging scholars to analyze the relationship and offer recommendations for better managing the volatile dynamics of trilateral relations. Contributors include Rumi Aoyama (Waseda University), Gerald Curtis (Columbia University), Fan Shiming (Peking University), M. Taylor Fravel (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Gui Yongtao (Peking University), Ryosei Kokubun (Keio University), Yasuhiro Matsuda (National Institute of Defense Studies), Andrew Oros (Washington College), Sadia Pekkanen (University of Washington), Katsuhiro Sasuga (Tokai University), Wang Jisi (Peking University), and Zhang Haibin (Peking University).

China, red or green -- Countering Japan -- Five ragged islands -- The golden years -- Japan says no -- Asian values -- Apologies and their discontents -- Yasukuni respects -- History's cauldron -- The Ampo mafia -- The rise and retreat of great powers -- China lays down the law -- Nationalization -- Creation myths -- Freezing point -- Afterword

This book examines the often troubled relationship between Japan and China from a broad interdisciplinary perspective. Utilising the expertise of Chinese, Japanese and regional specialists working in a variety of fields, this original work approaches the contemporary sources of tensions between these two Asian giants from several levels of analysis. In particular the domestic-state interface in both countries and the important role of historical perceptions in the region are explored.