CIAO DATE: 03/2011
February 2011
Danish Institute for International Studies
The territorial clash in the East China Sea in late 2010 between China and Japan illustrates the volatility of the relations between East Asia’s two economic giants. China’s leaders adopted a 'Janus-like' position in this as in earlier crises in order to pursue at the same time China’s basic interest in close economic ties with Japan and domestic stability in China. The critical question is whether China’s leaders can continue to adopt successful duality policies. Two factors may cause a breakdown of the Janus-like policy: a major failure of the Chinese economy and a breakdown of unity among China’s leaders as it happened in early 1989. The leaders are better able to control the second factor than the first-mentioned. However, the obvious merge of Chinese and Western economic interests may help China’s leaders overcome the difficulties in applying Janus-like policy also in future crises.
Resource link: Popular Nationalism in China and the Sino-Japanese Relationship: The Conflict in the East China Sea [PDF] - 280K