On June 1, 1952, three people, Fan Zuji, Gao Liangfu, and Miyashiki Kisuke, signed the first non-governmental trade agreement with relevant Chinese parties in Beijing. This is the first step in opening up relations between Japan and China.
The following year, the Japanese House of Representatives unanimously passed the "Resolution on Promoting Japan-China Trade" (July 29, 1953) against the backdrop of the easing of international tensions such as the armistice of the Korean War. Then, in October, a Chinese trade delegation composed of representatives of the Japan-China Trade Parliamentarians Alliance, which had been established at the end of the previous year, and representatives of the business community visited China, and the second non-governmental trade agreement was signed with the Chinese representatives (October 29, 1953). Exchanges between the two countries gradually expanded, and in 1954, a Japanese academic and cultural delegation headed by Abe visited China. On the Chinese side, a delegation from the Red Cross Society of China, headed by Ms. Li Dequan and advised by Mr. Liao Chengzhi, visited Japan.
In April 1955, a delegation from the Japan-China Fisheries Council visited China and signed a non-governmental fishery agreement with the China Fishery Association, and on May 4 of the same year, a trade delegation sent by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade signed the third non-governmental trade agreement with relevant Japanese organizations in Tokyo. Prime Minister Hatoyama at the time expressed his "support and cooperation" for the agreement. On April 18~24, 1955, the "Asian-African Conference" was held in Bandung, Indonesia. During the meeting, Premier Zhou Enlai held a meeting with Tatsunosuke Tatsunosuke.
In the autumn of that year, a non-partisan delegation of Japanese parliamentarians visited China, attended the National Day ceremony on October 1, and signed and issued a "Joint Statement" (October 17, 1955) with the head of the Chinese government, in which they pledged not only to promote trade and cultural exchanges and people-to-people exchanges, but also to make active efforts to normalize diplomatic relations. In the autumn of the same year, under the guidance of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) of the Japanese government, the Japan-China Import and Export Association was established (November 24, 1955). On the Chinese side, a delegation of the Academy of Sciences led by Mr. Guo Moruo, President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, visited Japan. In March 1956, the Japanese Chinese Exchange Association was established. The Chinese Peking Opera Troupe, which is attended by the famous Peking Opera artist Mei Lanfang, visited Japan and performed in various places. On March 30 of the same year, the House of Representatives of Japan passed the "Resolution on Promoting Japan-China Trade."
During this period, the Hatoyama Cabinet (December 10, 1954 ~ December 20, 1956) and the Ishibashi Cabinet (December 23, 1956 ~ February 25, 1957) took a forward-looking and positive attitude toward the China issue. Speaking at the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives on Japan-China relations, Prime Minister Ichiro Hatoyama said, "I think normal relations should be restored. If the other side wishes to have a dialogue, there is no reason for the Japanese side to refuse" (March 29, 1956). Prime Minister Ishibashi Zhanzan has had very positive ideas since he was Minister of International Trade and Industry in the Hatoyama Cabinet. Judging from the statements of the Chinese leaders, the Chinese side had expectations for the two cabinets at that time. It is a pity that the Ishibashi Cabinet was ousted after only two months. Then, Nobusuke Kishi formed a cabinet (February 25, 1957). During the reign of Nobusuke Kishi's administration, the situation in Japan-China relations was reversed.
Although the Chinese side was familiar with Kishi's experiences and deeds, it still adopted a wait-and-see attitude toward the movements of the cabinet on both sides of the strait. During this period, the Japanese Socialist Party delegation headed by Inarijiro Asunuma visited China. After Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai met with a delegation from the Socialist Party of Japan, Zhang Xiruo, president of the Chinese Society for People's Diplomacy, and Inarijiro Asanuma, head of the Socialist Party delegation of Japan, issued a joint statement (April 22, 1957). In this joint statement, the two sides expressed their views on the Taiwan issue and China's seat in the United Nations, and further expressed the unanimous views of both sides that "the stage has come when the Japanese Government and the Chinese Government should formally and comprehensively restore diplomatic relations as soon as possible." It can be seen that this is China's appeal to Japan for the normalization of diplomatic relations through this joint statement. However, it was not long before Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi said to the House of Councillors Foreign Affairs Committee that "it was not that time yet" (April 30 of the same year).
As a result, Japan-China relations cooled down again. Negotiations on the Fourth Private Trade Agreement (which began on September 21, 1957) did not go well, and a delegation from the Japan-China Trade Parliamentarians Alliance that participated in the negotiations finally issued a joint statement on the extension of the negotiations and returned to Japan (November 1 of the same year). But efforts to improve relations between the two countries have not been lost. Kumaichi Yamamoto, president of the Japan Council for the Promotion of International Trade, and others visited Beijing to hold talks with Nan Hanchen, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, and published a summary of the talks on strengthening business cooperation for the development of trade between Japan and China (February 8, 1958). This was followed by a Japanese steel delegation headed by Yoshihiro Inayama and a long-term trade agreement with Chinese companies in Beijing (February 26 of the same year). As a traction, the Fourth People's Trade Agreement, which had been suspended, was also agreed upon (March 5 of the same year). The Chinese Government expressed the support and assistance of the non-governmental trade agreement for the successful and complete realization of the guarantee.
Chiang Kai-shek's regime stabbed Japan in the side and threatened to cut off economic ties. The U.S. government is also putting pressure on Japan. The pro-Chiang forces in Japan also conspired to sabotage Japan-China trade. Kishi's cabinet yielded and accepted the demands of Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang regime. Needless to say, this aroused great indignation on the Chinese side, which fiercely condemned the Japanese Government.
Then there was the Nagasaki National Flag Incident (on May 2, 1958, the Chinese flag was torn down by mobs at the venue of the Chinese Stamp Paper-cutting Exhibition held at the Nagasaki Department Store, resulting in a political incident that insulted the dignity of China. ), as well as the words and deeds of the head of the Japanese government around this incident, which led to the rupture of relations between Japan and China. China declared the trade agreement null and void and suspended all relations with Japan, including people-to-people exchanges, on May 9 of the same year. Negotiations in Tokyo, which were still being held in accordance with the Iron and Steel Agreement, were halted in the middle of the process, and the Chinese Song and Dance Troupe, which was performing in Japan, immediately stopped performing and hurriedly returned to China.
Since then, however, efforts to improve relations between the two countries have continued. In July 1958, when Socialist Congressman Tadataka Satataka visited China, he proposed the resumption of the private fisheries agreement based on the "Three Principles of Political Relations with Japan" put forward by the Chinese side. In March 1959, Inajiro Asanuma, secretary general of the Japanese Socialist Party, visited China and pointed out in a speech in Beijing that "US imperialism is the common enemy of the Japanese and Chinese peoples." This caused an uproar in Japan. Prior to Asanuma's visit to China, the director of the General Council of Japanese Trade Unions had held consultations with the All-China Federation of Trade Unions on the issue of the export of so-called "care materials" to Japan. In May of the same year, Kenzo Nakajima, chairman of the Japan Chinese Exchange Association, visited China and signed a "Joint Declaration on Cultural Exchange" (June 6 of the same year).
1959 is the 10th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. On the occasion of celebrating the National Day, Japanese delegations from all walks of life have visited China, and former Premier Ishibashi Zhanshan's visit to China is worthy of special mention. Former Prime Minister Ishibashi said during his talks with Premier Zhou and other Chinese leaders, "We will work hard to normalize diplomatic relations between Japan and China and develop political, economic, and cultural exchanges between the two sides." Premier Zhou welcomed and agreed to this. The ruling LDP elder and the head of China also confirmed the method of accumulation based on the three principles of politics and the principle of the inseparability of politics and economy (September 20 of the same year). Judging from the environment at that time, Ishibashi Zhanshan can be called a politician who had insight into the overall situation and was brave and courageous. Following Ishibashi, Kenzo Matsumura visited China in late October of the same year.
China warmly welcomes Mr. Matsumura's visit. Premier Zhou Enlai held a grand welcome banquet in the Great Hall of the People attended by a large number of people. In his speech at the banquet, he emphatically pointed out: "The east is the east and the west is the west, and China and Japan must continue to be friendly from generation to generation and from generation to generation."
The 1960 revision of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty greatly irritated China, which condemned the Japanese government in a fiery tone, and relations between the two countries deteriorated.
In 1962, Kenzo Matsumura visited China for the second time. At the welcome banquet held in Beijing, Premier Zhou used the auspicious words of "good flowers, full moon, and longevity" in his speech to metaphorize the friendship between China and Japan, and congratulated Mr. Matsumura on his health and longevity.
Nevertheless, the Chinese side welcomed the visiting delegation with the utmost warmth and courtesy. This is not unrelated to the fact that Mr. Matsumura's visit to China three years ago has won the trust of the Chinese side, and the Chinese side has thought that the Ikeda Yuto Cabinet, which succeeded Nobusuke Kishi, may not be exactly the same as Nobusuke Kishi, and that many of the people in Matsumura's delegation have close ties with Prime Minister Ikeda, and it is possible that they can find people with ties to Ikeda among them. Unlike the previous one, Mr. Matsumura's current visit to China has a clear purpose, which is to develop long-term comprehensive trade between the two countries, centered on large companies and manufacturers. His reason was that friendly trading companies that had leaned on the left in the past did business with China alone, which had many drawbacks, small scale, and limitations.
Matsumura proposed that Japan and China should negotiate a framework for imports and exports according to the variety of commodities, and that the distribution of each enterprise within the framework should be determined by the enterprises concerned through consultations. The term is not limited to one year, but it must be done for a long time. In order not to break the contract, you must have a guarantor. This guarantor is not a high-ranking government official, but Mr. Matsumura.
This LT trade agreement, which can also be said to be a semi-official agreement, if realized, will actually move from a purely private agreement to an intergovernmental agreement, and it can be said that it will bring the restoration of diplomatic relations in the near future to a new level.
At that time, the Chinese side strongly wanted to issue a joint statement with Mr. Matsumura, but Mr. Matsumura refused and only agreed to sign a joint memorandum of understanding for the sake of clarification with both sides.
"While reiterating its adherence to the three principles of politics, trade, and the inseparability of politics and economy, the Chinese side pointed out that these principles will continue to be valid," the memo reads. The two sides also expressed their common desire to further promote and develop trade. The two sides have reached a common understanding of the normalization of bilateral relations, including political and economic relations, through a gradual accumulation approach. ”
LT trade lasted for 5 years until 1967. During this period, only one year's trade content was set for each year.
In September 1963, in order to formulate the trade content for the second year, 1964, the Gao Dai Office and Japanese businessmen visited China.
There were no obstacles to the trade negotiations, and an agreement was reached quickly as they were progressing well. In the first year (1963) trade was only $75 million (not including the amount of friendly trade), while in the second year (1964) it was $135 million, which is nearly doubled.
From September 25 to 29, 1972, Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka visited China at the invitation of Premier Zhou Enlai. Zhou Enlai held talks with Kakuei Tanaka on the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and China. On 29 July, Premier Zhou Enlai and Foreign Minister Ji Pengfei, together with Foreign Ministers Kakuei Tanaka and Masayoshi Ohira, signed a joint statement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of Japan, announcing the end of the abnormal state of affairs between the two countries, the establishment of diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level, the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, and the opening of a new page in the relations between the two countries. Subsequently, in accordance with the spirit of the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement, while the relations between the two countries were developing, the friendly exchanges and exchanges between the two peoples of the two countries developed significantly, and on this basis, on the basis of which the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the People's Republic of China and Japan was signed in Beijing on August 12, 1978.
The treaty recalls that since September 1972, when the Chinese and Japanese Governments issued a joint statement in Beijing, the friendly relations between the two governments and peoples have developed considerably on a new basis, and affirms that the above-mentioned joint statement is the basis for peaceful and friendly relations between the two countries. In order to consolidate and develop the peaceful and friendly relations between the two countries, it was decided to conclude a treaty of peace and friendship. The treaty consists of five articles, the main contents of which are as follows: (1) The two parties shall develop lasting peaceful and friendly relations between the two countries on the basis of the five principles of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence; (2) The Contracting Parties affirm that, in their mutual relations, all disputes shall be settled by peaceful means without resorting to the use of force or the threat of force; 3. The Contracting Parties make it clear that neither Party shall seek hegemony in Asia and the Pacific or any other region and oppose the efforts of any other State or group of States to establish such hegemony; 4. The two Contracting Parties will, in the spirit of good-neighborliness and friendship, and in accordance with the principles of equality, mutual benefit and non-interference in each other's internal affairs, make efforts to further develop economic and cultural relations between the two countries and promote exchanges between the two peoples; 5. This Treaty is without prejudice to the position of the High Contracting Parties in their relations with third States. The treaty is valid for 10 years. After 10 years, it will remain in force until termination is declared in accordance with paragraph 3 of the Treaty. From 22 to 29 October of the same year, Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping paid an official goodwill visit to a neighboring country separated by a strip of water at the invitation of the Japanese Government. On the morning of 23 October, the ceremony for the exchange of instruments of ratification of the Sino-Japanese Treaty of Peace and Friendship was held at the Japanese Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo. Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping and Japanese Prime Minister Tomo Fukuda attended the exchange ceremony. With the exchange of ratifications between the two countries, the treaty entered into force on the same day, and Deng Xiaoping spoke at the signing ceremony. He said: The Sino-Japanese Treaty of Peace and Friendship is a continuation and development of the 1972 Sino-Japanese Joint Statement and the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations, which has laid a more solid foundation for the good-neighborly and friendly relations between the two countries, opened up broader prospects for the further development of political, economic, cultural, scientific, technological, and other exchanges between the two countries, and will also have a positive impact on the maintenance of peace and security in the Asian and Pacific regions.
In his speech, Prime Minister Fukuda also said that the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and China in 1972 was of far-reaching significance to the strengthening and development of peaceful and friendly relations between Japan and China, which had been in close contact and exchange for many years, and also reflected the common desire of the two countries to contribute to peace and stability in Asia and the world, as stated in the preamble to the treaty. On the 24th, the People's Daily published an editorial entitled "A New Stage in Sino-Japanese Friendly Relations." Since the signing of the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement and the Sino-Japanese Treaty of Peace and Friendship, major progress has been made in bilateral relations. The leaders of the two countries have frequently exchanged visits, and exchanges between the two countries in the fields of industry, youth, and women, as well as organizations and personnel in the economic, scientific, technological, cultural, educational, health, sports, and religious fields, have been carried out in an all-round way, and friendly people-to-people exchanges have developed day by day. During his visit to Japan in 1982, Premier Zhao put forward the three principles of "peace and friendship, equality and mutual benefit, and long-term stability" as the development of Sino-Japanese relations. In 1983, when General Secretary Hu visited Japan, Prime Minister Nakasone of Japan proposed adding an article on "mutual trust," and Hu Yaobang expressed his approval, turning the three principles into four principles of "peace and friendship, equality and mutual benefit, mutual trust, and long-term stability," which became the basis for the development of relations between the two countries.