On July 1, at the invitation of the Shanghai Municipal Institute of Public Policy, a delegation of the non-profit International Geopolitics Institute Japan (IGIJ) visited Shanghai Academy, and held a seminar on the “Belt and Road” Cooperation & East Asian Crisis Management and Security Assurance.

Before the meeting, Li Chunguang, Deputy Director of the Cooperation Division of Shanghai Academy introduced the basic information of Shanghai Academy. He said that Shanghai Academy has been exploring the institutional innovation on the construction of a new-type of think tank with Chinese characteristics, deepening the cooperation between academy and city, and striving to achieve “four high-ends”: a high-end think tank, a high-end talent training base, a high-end international exchanges and cooperation platform, and a high-end national situation investigation base to improve the decision-making power of think tanks.

Strengthening cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative and East Asian Crisis Management and Security Assurance

Banri Kaieda, congressman of the Japanese House of Representatives, Vice President of the Japan-China Friendship Parliamentarians’ Union, and the former Head of the Democratic Party delivered speeches for the Seminar on the “Belt and Road” Cooperation & East Asian Crisis Management and Security Assurance.

Banri Kaieda said that this year marks the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Sino-Japanese Treaty of Peace and Friendship and is also a year in which the relations between North and South Korea have been eased. He looked forward to the good opportunity for China and Japan to conclude the 40th anniversary of the Treaty, deepen exchanges between the two countries through seminars, and promote the further improvement of China-Japan relations.

Kyoji Yanagisawa, President of the IGIJ and assistant to the former deputy chief Cabinet secretary, and Xia Liping, Dean and Professor of the School of Political Science & International Relations, Tongji University, delivered a keynote speech, respectively. The meeting was chaired by Wang Ping, former Head and researcher of the Political Office of the Institute of Japanese Studies, CASS.

Kyoji Yanagisawa said that with the continuous rise of China's economic strength over the past 40 years, the cultural exchanges between China and other countries in the world have increased, and the Japanese people's impression of China has undergone subtle changes. They have begun to positively and objectively evaluate China's development process, and correctly recognize China’s growing comprehensive national strength, from overlooking China in the past.

In terms of the situation and development trend of the China-US trade war, Kyoji Yanagisawa pointed out that throughout the history of the world, the balance of power between countries should not be resolved through war and other means. Regarding the China-US trade war, he pointed out that Japan must actively think about coping measures and cannot fully rely on the United States. When talking about China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Kyoji Yanagisawa believes that Japan may consider precision investment under the premise of improving its infrastructure in China from the perspective of economic considerations.

Xia Liping summarized and analyzed the evolution of the international system in his keynote speech. He said that the first major reform of the international system occurred in Europe. After World War II, it gradually expanded to both sides of the Atlantic, and now it has expanded from both sides of the Atlantic to the Asia-Pacific region. The rise of Asia has had a certain impact on the new international order, and is both an opportunity and a challenge for China and Japan.

“The six-party pattern of China, the United States, Russia, Japan, India and ASEAN has initially appeared, and the development of multi-polarity is more obvious.” In the face of the current international situation, Xia Liping said that China, the United States, Russia, and Japan are the four major forces affecting the development of the Asia-Pacific region. The situation and evolution of the relationships among these countries will determine the development of the political and security situation around China to a certain extent. Mutual benefit and win-win results accord with the common interests of China and the United States. Cooperation is the only correct choice for the development of Sino-US relations. However, the economic relations between China and Japan are interdependent and co-developed. Although there are still unstable factors, China and Japan have strong demands for peace and stability in East Asia.

The Belt and Road Initiative benefits the whole world. China should plan domestic and foreign affairs as a whole, closely integrate the domestic economic and social development strategies with foreign economic cooperation, and gradually implement the strategic planning of building a global economic community, financial community, and security community with countries alongside the Silk Road.

The guests fully exchanged and discussed topics focusing on the theme of seminar.

Banri Kaieda shared his opinions on Japan’s Political Situation, Government Decision-Making Process and Prospects for Sino-Japanese Cooperation. Wang Shaopu, former Deputy Director and researcher of the Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, shared his ideas on the Impact of the Peninsula Situation and the Choice of East Asian Security Strategy on the “Belt and Road” Construction and Cooperation Mechanism.

Yu Zhirong, former Vice Head of China Marine Surveillance Donghai Corps and senior engineer, Yoshinago Hayashi, council member of IGIJ, former Brigadier General of Japan Air Self-Defense Force and researcher, Xia Hongjun, Director and associate researcher of Exchange Office of Shanghai Institute for Public Relation Studies, and Li Chunguang, participated in the discussion and exchanged views on the US Westward Strategy and the crisis management of Sino-Japanese relations.

On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Sino-Japanese Treaty of Peace and Friendship, the visit of IGIJ to Shanghai Academy will not only help further deepen friendly relations between China and Japan, but also lay a good foundation for Shanghai Academy to expand cooperation between the two countries in various fields.