Growth in the Chinese economy could lead to future competition with Japan, but because of common interests and histories, both countries should approach trade as a triangular relationship with the United States, panelists said at a conference on Japanese foreign policy Tuesday night.
Panelists at the public lecture - part of the 111th Washington Asia Forum co-sponsored by AU's Center for Asian Studies and the Global Forum of Chinese Political Scientists - discussed the importance of communication between the three global powers.
Koki Mori, a graduate student in the School of International Studies, said it is important to take an international look at Asian trade.
"It's important to discuss this relationship not just in terms of East Asia ... it's wider than that," he said.
Kent Calder, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, talked about the economic and geo-political issues involved in the relationship among China, Japan and the United States. Economically, these three powers account for 42.2 percent of the world's gross domestic product. They also represent 41.4 percent of the world's demand for oil, which is two-fifths of all energy consumed, he said.
Because of their economic power, "the inter-relations of the three countries in central to the future stability of the International Financial System," Calder said.
Calder discussed several factors that influence the relationships between the countries on a geopolitical level. This is the first time in history that both Japan and China are evenly matched in terms of economic and political power, he said.
Massafumi Ishii, minister of the Japanese Embassy, discussed the rise of China's GDP in relation to the decline of Japan's. Ishii said Japan's GDP used to be 14 percent of the world's GDP but is now 11 percent.
"I think that in five years, it will get into single-digits," Ishii said. "If China continues to grow, it will take only 12 to 13 years for its GDP to be as large as Japan's GDP is now."
Ishii said this growth could create possible competition and tension between the two powers.
"It is difficult for two tigers to live on the same mountain," he said.
Still, Ishii said he has hope for an open dialogue and cooperative relations between the two countries along with the U.S. in the future. At the root of his optimism are the common interests found in what Ishii calls "the three E's: economy, environment and energy."
Discussion and cooperation in these areas are the foundation for positive interaction among Japan, China and the U.S, he said.
