Leaders of Japan, China Agree On North Korea Threat
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's meetings yesterday with Chinese leaders marked the end to a long standoff between Asia's two biggest powers, a rapprochement that might boost the effort to dissuade North Korea from its nuclear ambitions.
NUCLEAR AMBITION
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The meetings were the countries' first summit in five years and could lessen the chances of a flare-up in the region. Japan and China still dispute territory, such as a small group of islands near some gas fields in the East China Sea. These have been the subject of recent spats over drilling rights; yesterday, the countries agreed to seek a deal to jointly develop the area.
More immediately, just days after North Korea threatened to carry out a nuclear test, Mr. Abe and Chinese President Hu Jintao agreed they were both "deeply concerned" by this development. They said they will work to stop North Korea from developing nuclear weapons, something that would have the potential to trigger an arms race in the region.
"We agreed that [a North Korean nuclear test] would be a great threat and would be unacceptable," Mr. Abe told reporters after the meetings. "We will strengthen cooperation to get North Korea to answer to the demands of international society."
Yesterday's meetings were largely symbolic. The wider significance of the visit is an attempt by Mr. Abe, who became Japanese prime minister last month, to give Japan greater influence in East Asia. A new Japanese leader's first port of call customarily is Washington. Mr. Abe was scheduled to travel on to South Korea today. By first visiting Japan's two neighbors, he is showing a determination to engage them.
His predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi, made Japan a more-assertive player in regional affairs. He also angered China by visiting Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, dedicated to Japan's war dead, which honors convicted war criminals as well as conscripted soldiers. Because of this, China has refused summit meetings since 2001.
Mr. Abe is a supporter of the shrine and is reported to have paid his respects there quietly in April -- though he won't confirm this. Japanese officials say no promise was made as a condition for this visit that Mr. Abe won't visit the shrine as prime minister. Still, because shrine visits have become an international political issue, Mr. Abe told reporters yesterday, "I decided not to say whether or not I'm going."
By taking a less-strident line than Mr. Koizumi has, Mr. Abe hopes to win for Japan a greater ability to influence regional affairs -- in particular over North Korea, of which China is a traditional ally.
"For Japan, the summit is a major triumph as it regains its political voice and begins to assert a political role in the region," said Kenneth Pyle, founding president of the National Bureau of Asian Research in Seattle. "Greater influence could be critical as North Korea goes through a new phase of military tests and threats."
In recent years, Japan has joined the U.S. in taking a hard line on Pyongyang. If Mr. Abe can improve Japan's relations with its neighbors, that could help the countries form a joint strategy toward Pyongyang.
Beijing's leaders, for their part, also are anxious to repair ties with Japan, China's second-largest single-country trading partner after the U.S. Trade between the two nations totaled $188.4 billion in 2005, exceeding the trade value between Japan and the U.S.
"There are two things we want to achieve during this visit," said Zhang Yunling, director of the Institute of Asia Pacific Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "To turn the tide against the worsening diplomatic ties between the two countries and to try to create a favorable environment of wide-range cooperation."
安倍晋三结束访华
日本首相安倍晋三(Shinzo Abe)周日与中国领导人的会晤标志着中日两国长期以来的紧张关系得到了缓解，这或许有助于有关国家劝说朝鲜放弃核计划的努力。
安倍晋三相关报导
? 安倍晋三展开东亚外交攻势
? 安倍晋三将与中韩领导人举行峰会
? 安倍晋三或将沿袭小泉政策路线
? 安倍晋三正式当选日本首相
? 安倍晋三当选日本自民党总裁
安倍晋三周日造访北京是两国元首5年来的首次会晤，这或许有助于降低中日两国出现“擦枪走火”的几率。日本和中国仍存在领土方面的纠纷，例如，两国在靠近中国东海气田的一块小岛的归属权上就存在争议。两国最近还在气田开采权的问题上发生过几次争吵。根据周日达成的协议，中日同意寻求共同开发这块海域。
安倍晋三访华不久前，朝鲜刚刚宣布要进行核试验（本文截稿时，朝鲜证实已经进行了核试验）。安倍晋三和中国国家主席胡锦涛都对朝鲜的这一举动“深表关切”。二人表示，他们将共同设法阻止朝鲜开发核武器。朝鲜研制核武器可能引发该地区的军备竞赛。
安倍晋三在中日元首会晤后的新闻发布会上表示，中日两国首脑均认为朝鲜进行核试验是个严重的威胁，是不可接受的。他说，中日两国将加强合作，促使朝鲜对国际社会的呼声做出回应。
周日的会谈带有很大程度的象征性质。上个月刚刚就任首相一职的安倍晋三此次访华所蕴含的更深远意义在于为日本在东亚事务方面争取更大的发言权。日本首相上任后出访的第一个国家往往是美国。按照行程，安倍晋三定于周一出访韩国。安倍晋三把中、韩两国作为第一次出访的目的地意味着他下定了与这两个亚洲邻国保持正常关系的决心。
安倍晋三的前任小泉纯一郎(Junichiro Koizumi)在处理地区事务方面更为固执一些。另外，他多次参拜靖国神社(Yasukuni Shrine)的行为也激怒了中国。正因为如此，中国方面自2001年以来一直拒绝与日本举行元首会晤。
安倍晋三也是靖国神社的支持者，据报导，他曾于今年4月低调参拜了靖国神社，尽管他本人不肯证实此事。日本官员称，安倍晋三在访华前并没有做出今后不以首相身份参拜靖国神社的承诺。不过，鉴于这个话题的国际敏感性，安倍晋三在周日的新闻发布会上表示，他决定不公开披露是否参拜靖国神社这个问题。
通过采取比小泉纯一郎温和一些的政治立场，安倍晋三希望为日本赢得在地区事务方面、特别是朝核问题上更大的影响力。
亚洲研究局(National Bureau of Asian Research)的创始人兼总裁肯尼斯?佩尔(Kenneth Pyle)表示，此次中日元首峰会对于日本而言是个重大胜利，因为这标志着日本重新获得了政治话语权，开始在地区事务上发挥政治影响力。为日本争取到更大影响力至关重要，因为此时正值朝鲜准备进行新一轮核试验和核威胁之际。
近几年来，日本与美国携手对平壤采取了强硬政策。如果安倍晋三能够改善日本与邻国的关系，那么亚洲国家就可以在朝核问题上保持一致立场。
中国领导人同样也希望修复同日本的关系，毕竟日本是中国的第二大贸易伙伴。2005年中日双边贸易额达到了1,884亿美元，超过了日本和美国的贸易额。
中国社会科学院亚太研究所(Institute of Asia Pacific Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)所长张蕴岭表示，中国希望能借安倍晋三访华实现两个目标，一是扭转两国外交关系不断恶化的趋势，二是尽量为两国广泛的合作营造一个良好的氛围。
Sebastian Moffett / Mei Fong
