(China Daily)
Updated: 2007-12-27 07:21

In sharp contrast to his predecessor Shinzo Abe's hurried Beijing trip last year, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's four-day visit to China seems to be all-inclusive.

The trip will take him to Beijing, Tianjin and Shandong. Different issues will be on his agenda at the three places. In Beijing, Chinese leaders will discuss political matters with Fukuda, working out a blueprint for the bilateral relations. Business will be the theme of his stay in Tianjin. Culture will take centre stage in Shandong where he will pay homage at the Confucius Temple in Qufu,

Fukuda put Tianjin, a city foreign leaders have rarely visited during their China trips, on his itinerary because it hosts a large number of Japan-invested companies such as Toyota and Panasonic.

Speculation is rife about his visits to the city and Shandong, which are covered in the East Asia regional cooperation.

With the Six-Party Talks progressing smoothly, Fukuda is likely to take the initiative to push for the integration of East Asia.

Serious Japanese think tanks are working on a mid-term strategy to deal with China. The proposal they have submitted to Fukuda before he goes to Beijing comes up with the conclusion that China may probably be "an immature big power" until 2020.

The proposal has quite a few points to recommend it.

Based on their assumptions, they recommend the Japanese prime minister hold regular summits for leaders of China, the United States and Japan. Japan should work for a strategic partnership with China when it consolidates its alliance with the US.

Their proposal has highlighted the issue of history. It suggests that studies on history be done so as to help the two countries understand modern history.

History is a big issue in the bilateral relations. Hopefully, the Japanese government will understand and handle it properly. Fukuda said that he will face the past with an open mind and will not visit the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in his capacity as prime minister.

After Chinese and Japanese leaders resumed visiting each other's country, the political dimensions of the bilateral relations has been driven to catch up with the quickening economic exchanges.

Fukuda's visit to China is a leap in bilateral political, economic and cultural contacts. The crux of the matter is to build trust between the countries at the strategic level.

(China Daily 12/27/2007 page10)