China 's Rise And Security Dilemma In Sino - Japanese Relations

With the reform and opening up to the outside world for three decades, China has witnessed great achievements, just as President Xi says “Now, we are closest to realizing the China dream of the great rejuvenation for the Chinese people”, it is the key period for the rise of China. China requires safer and more stable external environment than that at any time in the past, however, the rise of China alters the power structure of the regions inevitably. For Japan in particular, the rise of China directly impacts its position as the first power in Asia. As China’s economy keeps developing and the national strength keeps growing, the gap between China and Japan continues to narrow, in spite of the large gap between the Gross National Product(GNP) per capita of China and that of Japan, China has surpassed Japan in the economic aggregate.As China’s influence on the world continues to grow, each country in Asia and even each country around the world desires to get on the express bus of economic development of China. As far as Japan is concerned, Japan’s economy is still in downturn after the “lost decade”, how to reinvigorate a slumping economy of Japan is still the priority among priorities for administration of successive governments. Under anarchy of the international community, insecurity of Japan continues to increase as the gap on the national strength between China and Japan keeps narrowing, despite that it is an illusion to a large extent, such insecurity is enough for Japan to prepare for the worst. How to secure Japan under the background of China’s rise becomes the focus of Japan’s foreign strategies. The relations between China and Japan are caught in the “security dilemma”, which repeated again and again in the history. Because postwar Japan lacks of introspection on historical issues, real mutual trust between China and Japan never exits, while Japan’s right wing forces are fickle on historical issues to obtain the Japanese people, and the turmoil of Japanese political situations results in lack of continuity of Japan’s policies toward China, leaving the relations between China and Japan in the cycle of “freezing” and “melting”. China’s peaceful rise depends on good surrounding environment, and we focus on keeping the development of relations between China and Japan within controllable scope with a view to minimizing the obstacles to China’s development in the paper.In the paper, we will analyze the relations between China and Japan under the frame of “security dilemma”, sort out the production of the security dilemma and relations between the national rise and the security dilemma, and analyze the changes and trends of relations between China and Japan. The security dilemma occurs when one country is panic because the other country becomes stronger, the priority of the country is given to the security issue in anarchy, hence, the instinctive panic will be triggered in the country when the other country become stronger, and the country will adopt countermeasures such as increase in arms, alliances and other modes to secure the country. Under such conditions, one country feels safe only when feeling that it is stronger than the other country, so the two countries will have drastic security competition. The security dilemma is often caused because of imbalance of power balance, which merely happens within its territories of the country. In the past, the rise of many countries adopted the military force, which of course made other countries panic, even if today peaceful rise of China still fails to perish concerns of other countries, especially Japan.Sino-Japan security dilemma occurs under the background of China’s growing strength. China’s GDP exceeded that of Japan in 2010, becoming a major economy only second to the USA, meanwhile, China’s strengths on military, culture and other aspects have made a great progress, leaving Japan feeling more and more pressure from China. While China and Japan have never established real mutual trust, and the geographical approach enlarges the security dilemma between China and Japan. Under such conditions, Japan spontaneously adopts measures to balance China, and such measures include amendment to the Constitution to lift a ban for Self Defense Force, efforts to become a political power, efforts to keep enhancing Japan-U.S. Alliance, and containment against China around the globe, escalating the security dilemma between China and Japan. In fact, after the contrast on strengths of China and Japan in a calm manner, we will find out that China only exceeds Japan on the economic aggregate, as a populous country and a geographical power, it is normal to have such an economic strength. China still lag away behind Japan as far as GDP per capita is concerned. Although being a manufacturing power, China faces many difficulties like lack of innovation, unbalanced development and the economic structure to be adjusted. So, China poses no threat to Japan objectively, and has no subjective desire to threaten Japan. If Japan adopts such thinking modes of negative realism, then the security dilemma between China and Japan can only become a “ self-fulfilling prophecy”.In the paper, we analyze the solutions that China is to adopt. As far as the rise course of powers is concerned, the rising country is always subjected to various suspicion, because other countries are always filled with misgivings on a emerging power. How to rise and what foreign policies to implement after the rise and other issues of China will become focuses of other countries, and China faces integration of the international community, which is the only way on the development history of a power. So China shall adjust attitudes towards various questioning, concentrate on economic development, keep being committed to improve people’s living standards and enhance the national strength, keep boosting the modernization drive for the military with a view to making the military a strong backup force for the national rise. As far as the crisis of relations between China and Japan is concerned, if we want to change the current status between China and Japan, we shall start from establishing the mutual trust between the two countries, however the establishment of mutual trust is an extremely difficult process. So in the process, conflicts between China and Japan will occur on some sensitive issues, even events like the gun fires by accident when it is cleaned happen. The top priority is to establish a risk management mechanism between China and Japan and conduct the risk control on the issue most prone to conflicts- Diaoyu Island issue. The two countries shall settlement the issue in the principle of seeking limited targets, being other-centered, concession on non-core interests. Meanwhile, China may fully take advantage of the psychology of the USA, not hoping China to be too powerful and not allowing conflicts between China and Japan, playing a role of a “relief valve” of the USA, and controlling the reasonless behaviors of Japan at key moments. China’s main purpose is to create good external environment for realizing China dream.