On December 15, Shanghai Academy held the Seminar on “the ‘Belt and Road’ Cooperative Mechanism, Economic Globalization and Security Guarantee”. The seminar was attended in person by Professor Hideaki Kaneda from Keio University, Tatsuhiko Yoshizaki, Chief Researcher and former Vice President of Sojitz Research Institute, researchers Watanabe Yoshikazu, Onoda Osamu and Suzuki Kuniko from Okazaki Institute, Zhong Yan, Vice President and Researcher from Shanghai Institute for Public Relation Studies, Cheng Yawen, Researcher from the School of International Relations and Public Affairs of Shanghai International Studies University, Yu Zhirong, Researcher from China Ocean Development & Research Center, Professor Chen Yue from Renmin University of China, and Doctor Xiao Yang from Peking University. Li Chunguang, Deputy Director of the Cooperation Division of Shanghai Academy, presided over the seminar.

At the seminar, experts and scholars delivered speeches and had discussions on issues concerning Sino-Japanese relations, the East China Sea, China’s “Belt and Road” Initiative, economic cooperation, regional security, crisis management control, and so on. Li Chunguang believed that in the new era, Sino-Japanese relations have obviously improved, and that promoting stable and healthy Sino-Japanese communications has become a top priority. A stable neighboring environment was conducive to China’s economic and social development, the advancement of China’s “Belt and Road” Strategy, and the display of the achievements of China’s reform and opening worldwide, and would let the whole world share the achievements that China harvests. China and Japan should strengthen exchanges, enhance mutual understanding, and strengthen economic cooperation in energy conservation and environmental protection to achieve win-win outcomes. In the opinion of Tatsuhiko Yoshizaki, for the time being, Japan’s enthusiasm for China’s “Belt and Road” Initiative was not high. He noted that economic globalization was the main trend of the economic development in the world, and economically, all trans-border transactions are win-win outcomes. So he hoped Japan could actively participate in China’s “Belt and Road” Initiative. If the conditions permitted, the two countries could strengthen cooperation in energy, LNG, and other fields. He also expected the disputes between the two countries over territorial land and seas could be properly settled. In combination with his 30-year-long working experience in Shanghai, Yu Zhirong used four cases to explain China’s application and practice of the Law of the Sea in the East China Sea, and hoped to reiterate China’s maritime rights and interests to Japan through this seminar, to eliminate some unnecessary maritime disputes between the two countries. According to Suzuki Kuniko, China and Japan should cooperate with each other in principle of “strategic reciprocity”, and further strengthen bilateral cooperation in non-traditional areas. She pointed out that, in term of China’s “Belt and Road” Strategy, Japan has attached great importance to the transparency of rules and the mutual trust between the two countries. Zhong Yan said that, in term of China’s “Belt and Road” Initiative, China and Japan could strengthen cooperation in the fields of infrastructure construction of ports and smart city, industrial investment, and trade and finance.

The Chinese and Japanese scholars also made candid and in-depth exchanges and discussions on issues concerning how to enhance the investment attractiveness of the “Belt and Road” Initiative, how to avoid investment risk, how to improve security issues between the two countries, and how to deal with the relationship between the “Belt and Road” Initiative and the “Indo-Pacific Strategy”.

(By Xiang Jinmei)