Chapter 27 3. Normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan

The breakthrough in Sino-US relations has made China face a new diplomatic situation.This has had a huge and far-reaching impact on changing the basic pattern of international relations.As Zhou Enlai pointed out in August of this year: We have principles in our dealings with the United States.So far we have not concluded any agreement with the United States, only a "Joint Communiqué".But this breakthrough has made countries in the world willing to do business with us.Here lies the harvest of Sino-US exchanges. On March 13, only two weeks after the publication of the Sino-U.S. Joint Communiqué, the Sino-British Joint Communiqué on the exchange of ambassadors was signed and published.The diplomatic relations at the charge d'affaires level established between the two countries since 1954 have been upgraded to the ambassadorial level.Then, China upgraded or formally established diplomatic relations with the Netherlands, Greece, and the Federal Republic of Germany.In a short period of time, China's relations with Western countries have undergone unprecedented changes.

The most affected by the "Nixon shock wave" is Japan, a neighboring country that is separated from China by a narrow strip of water. Zhou Enlai is familiar with Japan.In his youth, he studied abroad in Tokyo for a year and a half.After the founding of New China, Zhou Enlai has been concerned about Sino-Japanese relations and guided the work with Japan.From the opening of the door of Sino-Japanese non-governmental exchanges in the early 1950s, "promoting officials with the people", to the mutual establishment of trade representative offices in the 1960s, opening up semi-official channels between China and Japan, every step forward in Sino-Japanese relations has included Zhou Enlai's careful guidance and nurturing .According to statistics, among the many foreign guests Zhou Enlai received after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Japanese guests ranked first both in number and number of guests.

Before Kissinger’s secret visit to China in 1971, Zhou Enlai held talks with Takeiri Yoshikatsu, leader of the Japanese Komeito Party, and established the basic principles for the normalization of Sino-Japanese relations.The joint statement issued by the visiting delegation of the Komeito Party of Japan and the delegation of the China-Japan Friendship Association emphasized that there is only one China, and the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing China; Taiwan is a province of China and an integral part of China's territory ; The Japan-Taiwan Treaty is illegal and must be abolished; China's legal rights in all United Nations organizations must be restored.The Chinese side stated that if the Japanese government can accept the above proposal and take practical steps to this end, China and Japan can end the state of war, restore diplomatic relations, and conclude a peace treaty.Then, Kissinger's two visits to China and the reality that China's legal rights were restored at the 26th UN General Assembly shocked all walks of life in Japan.Japanese political and financial organizations and individuals came to China one after another to actively promote the normalization of Japan-China relations.The old Japanese friends who have been committed to Japan-China friendship for a long time have been working tirelessly to travel back and forth, hoping to realize the common long-cherished wish as soon as possible.

Zhou Enlai has long been at the center of this series of activities between China and Japan. In the first half of 1972, Zhou Enlai discussed the restoration of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations with people from the Japanese Socialist Party, the Liberal Democratic Party, the Democratic Socialist Party and the Komeito Party. principle to normalize relations between the two countries.He also said: If a current prime minister is ready to resolve the issue of Japan-China relations and come to China for talks in person, of course we cannot refuse.How can we refuse someone with such courage?In principle, the new Japanese government will not be hostile to China and will not obstruct the restoration of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations. Instead, it will continue Japan-China friendship and strive to restore Japan-China diplomatic relations, which is in line with the "three principles" that are often said today.We are willing to contact such a government, that is, a government that does not continue Sato's line.Of course, the Sino-Japanese diplomatic relationship is still a very complicated issue. The subtleties of the specific implementation need to be discussed at the government level, and there is also a formality issue.If the leaders of the two countries are sincerely willing to resolve the issue, then the form is the second, the content is the first, and the essence is to truly promote Sino-Japanese friendship and restore Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations.

On July 7, 1972, the Japanese Sato cabinet resigned, and Kakuei Tanaka took over as prime minister.On the same day, Tanaka issued a statement saying: "Under the turbulent world situation, we should speed up the normalization of diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China and vigorously carry out peaceful diplomacy." People held meetings to study Tanaka's speech and discuss the promotion of Sino-Japanese relations.He asked the news organizations to work actively, not to take it lightly, and fully and accurately reflect the spirit of promoting Sino-Japanese friendship in their propaganda reports. On the 9th, Zhou Enlai delivered a speech at the banquet welcoming the leaders of the Democratic People's Republic of Yemen, saying: "The Tanaka Cabinet was established on the 7th, and the diplomatic statement that it will speed up the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations is welcome." In the talks with the French foreign minister, he said: "Japan has a new look in its relations with China. This is the first time that the Japanese government has done this in 27 years after the war. We have no reason not to welcome the Tanaka government's actions." His statement The two speeches are a clear response to Tanaka's statement on relations with China.

At this time, Sun Pinghua, deputy secretary-general of the China-Japan Friendship Association and former chief representative of the Tokyo Liaison Office, was leading a delegation to visit Tokyo.Zhou Enlai instructed Sun Pinghua to seize the opportunity to personally convey his invitation to Prime Minister Tanaka to visit China, and spread a message: "As long as Prime Minister Tanaka can come to Beijing for an interview, all issues can be discussed." Governor and Representative Sasaki further proposed at three o'clock: If the current prime minister, foreign minister or other ministers come to China to discuss the restoration of diplomatic relations between Japan and China, Beijing Airport is ready to open to them.According to Zhou Enlai's instructions, Sun Pinghua first conveyed the Chinese invitation to Japanese Foreign Minister Masaoyo Ohira on July 22.After research, the Tanaka government informed the Chinese side of Prime Minister Tanaka's decision to visit China on August 11.Upon receiving the report, Zhou Enlai immediately authorized Foreign Minister Ji Pengfei to issue a statement announcing that the Chinese Premier welcomed and invited Prime Minister Tanaka to visit China and negotiate on the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations. On the 15th, Tanaka met with Sun Pinghua in Tokyo and formally accepted the Chinese invitation.As a result, the prospects for the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan have become clear.

During this period, although Zhou Enlai was found to be suffering from cancer, he still worked hard day and night to prepare for the talks between the leaders of China and Japan.Foreign Minister Ji Pengfei, who participated in the preparation work, recalled: "The Prime Minister appointed me, Qiao Guanhua, Liao Chengzhi, Han Nianlong and others to form the Japanese team. The Prime Minister received foreign guests during the day, and there were a lot of Japanese friends visiting China at that time. At night, we were held in Xihua Hall or Diaoyutai to study the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Japan. We went to the residence of Chairman Mao in Zhongnanhai for a meeting and reported to the chairman. After the chairman decided on major policies, the prime minister came back to study and arrange with us, and the prime minister asked and thought about everything. He often said: 'Diplomatic authorization is limited', 'diplomacy is no small matter'. At that time, he was 74 years old and had been diagnosed with cancer. This is how he worked while sick, working ten or even 20 hours a day."

These touching plots were almost unknown to outsiders at the time. To resolve the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, there is also a Taiwan issue.The difference is that the leaders of China and Japan intend to resolve this primary issue once and for all through talks, that is, Japan recognizes the government of the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal government representing China, and the two sides establish formal diplomatic relations; at the same time, Japan cuts off ties with Taiwan. The official relationship of the Chiang Kai-shek clique includes the abolition of the so-called "Japan-Taiwan Treaty".As a result, Zhou Enlai has been paying close attention to Japan's attitude towards the Taiwan question, and even personally asked about the subtle differences in certain formulations.

In late July, shortly after Sun Pinghua conveyed the Chinese invitation to the Japanese side, Zhou Enlai met again with Takeiri Yoshikatsu, the leader of the Japanese Komeito Party.During the meeting, Zhou Enlai pointed out straightforwardly: Now there is a specific problem. The Tanaka cabinet recognizes that the government of the People's Republic of China is the only orthodox government representing China. We don't quite understand the word "orthodox".What we are saying is that the Government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the entire Chinese people. The opposite of "legal" is "illegal".Because Chiang Kai-shek was overthrown, it was illegal.Last year, the United Nations restored the legal rights of the People's Republic of China and drove out the Chiang Kai-shek clique. In other words, international organizations also recognized the government of the People's Republic of China as legitimate and the government of Chiang Kai-shek as illegal.Why do I ask what the word "orthodox" means?Because there are "Orthodoxy" and "Pian'an" in Chinese.

After describing the situation in Chinese history, he asked: I don't know if the "orthodoxy" mentioned by the legal experts in the Tanaka government has other meanings?In response to the "Tokyo Shimbun" claim by officials of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs that "the Japan-Taiwan Treaty has resolved the issue of ending the war," Zhou Enlai pointed out that when the "Japan-Taiwan Treaty" was concluded, the People's Republic of China had already been established.This treaty completely ignores the existence of China. It is illegal and invalid to end the state of war with the Chiang regime who fled to Taiwan, and it should be abolished.Regarding the issue of the Sino-Japanese joint statement, Zhou Enlai said that China will insist on including the two issues of ending the state of war and resuming diplomatic relations into the joint statement.Takeiri recorded Zhou Enlai's opinion on the spot, saying that he would take it back to report to Prime Minister Tanaka and Foreign Minister Ohira.

Another important issue in resolving the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations is how to view the history of Japanese militarism's invasion of China.In the mid-1950s, when Zhou Enlai met with Japanese friends, he made it clear that there have been thousands of years of cultural exchanges between China and Japan, and historically they are friendly relations.In the more than 50 years since the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, China and Japan have turned against each other, but from the perspective of history, this is only a short moment, and it has become history.I believe that in the future, China and Japan must be friendly and will definitely establish normal relations. In the early 1970s, Zhou Enlai told a delegation of Japanese students visiting China: The 51 years from 1894 to 1945 were a great education for the Chinese people.If it was just the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, it would not be able to educate the Chinese people.The biggest education was the war of aggression against China launched by Japanese militarism. In June 1972, when Zhou Enlai met with former Japanese Lieutenant General Saburo Endo and other members of the Japan-China friendship old military delegation, he specifically talked about the issue of war.He said: After reading various books, war histories, and war records recently published in Japan, I found that they all glorified the war so much that people doubted whether the contents of these books were true.Recently, in China, I watched a movie about the Fifty-Six General Yamamoto, and I also watched a movie about the Japanese army who invaded China.Regardless of the content of any movie, it is a beautified and very heroic image.It is obvious that doing so will make war-ignorant young people yearn for war and lead to war again.After you go back, you must truthfully write a war history that reflects the truth of the Great East Asian War.You are all getting old, you have to hurry up, or you will repeat the same mistakes. In mid-September of the same year, Zentaro Kosaka, chairman of the Japan-China Council for the Normalization of Diplomatic Relations, who shouldered the mission of the "advanced team" of Prime Minister Tanaka's visit to China, led a delegation of members of the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party's House of Representatives and House of Representatives to Beijing. On September 18, when China and Japan began to hold talks, Zhou Enlai pointed out: "Japanese militarism not only brought disaster to the Chinese people, but also brought disaster to the Japanese people." "Today happens to be September 18 , 41 years ago today, the September 18th Incident took place. Now, the two countries are shaking hands, which is a historic turning point. The new era has come, and we should move on.” On the issue of the Japanese war of aggression against China, Zhou Enlai always adhered to the principle: to face up to history unequivocally and take history as a mirror; on this basis, adhere to the policy of looking forward and focus on solving future problems. In mid-September 1972, Zhou Enlai met with members of the Japanese House of Representatives and the chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party Japan-China Relations Normalization Council Zentaro Kosaka for three consecutive times, expressing optimism that Prime Minister Tanaka would come to China to negotiate a solution to the normalization of Sino-Japanese relations.Then, he met with Yoshimi Furui, the head of the Japan-China MOU Trade Office who came to China under the entrustment of Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiro Ohira, and exchanged views on the Sino-Japanese joint statement.He also met and entertained old Japanese friends who have long been committed to Japan-China friendship many times, and expressed his gratitude to them by citing the phrase "Drinking water does not forget the well digger". On the 20th, China and Japan simultaneously issued a communiqué on Prime Minister Tanaka's visit to China, and all preparations for the meeting between the leaders of the two countries have been fully prepared. On the morning of September 25, Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka, Foreign Minister Masahiro Ohira, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Susumu Nikaido arrived in Beijing.Zhou Enlai, Ye Jianying, and Guo Moruo waited to meet him at the airport.This is the first visit to China by a Japanese prime minister since the war.On the same day, the leaders of China and Japan began to hold talks on the restoration of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan and other related issues. In the evening, at the welcome banquet held for Prime Minister Tanaka, Zhou Enlai delivered a toast, praising Tanaka's visit to China as "opening a new page in the history of Sino-Japanese relations."At the same time, he pointed out: "In the half century since 1894, due to the Japanese militarists' invasion of China, the Chinese people have suffered major disasters, and the Japanese people have also suffered greatly. This experience is not to forget the past, but to guide the future. We should keep in mind the lesson.” He also said: After Prime Minister Tanaka took office, with the joint efforts of China and Japan, “there is a good foundation for the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Promote Sino-Japanese friendship and restore Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations , is the common aspiration of the people of China and Japan. Now is the time for us to complete this historic task." Tanaka said in his speech: "In the past few decades, Japan-China relations have gone through an unfortunate process. During this period, our country has caused a lot of trouble to the Chinese people. I once again express my deep introspection on this." Tanaka's The speech, especially the word "trouble" he used, aroused strong dissatisfaction from the Chinese side.Regarding this speech, various newspapers and periodicals in China were ordered not to publish it.The next day, during the meeting with Tanaka, Zhou Enlai put forward bluntly: Prime Minister Tanaka regretted the unfortunate process in the past, and expressed that he would deeply reflect on it. This is acceptable to us.However, the phrase "causing a lot of trouble" has aroused strong resentment among the Chinese people, because ordinary things can also be said to be "causing trouble".Tanaka explained that in Japanese, "trouble" is a sincere expression of apology, and it also includes the meaning of guaranteeing not to repeat the crime in the future and asking for forgiveness. On the 27th, when Mao Zedong met with Tanaka, he also asked "troublesome" questions.Tanaka said that the Japanese side is ready to change according to China's habits. Another problem encountered in the Sino-Japanese talks is the issue of war reparations.Before Tanaka’s visit to China, the Chinese side had officially conveyed to the Japanese side that, for the sake of the friendship between the Chinese and Japanese peoples, China was prepared to renounce its war compensation claim against Japan, and suggested that this be included in the joint statement of the two sides.However, when discussing the specific provisions of the joint statement, Takashima, director of the Treaty Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, pointed out that the issue of war compensation had been legally resolved, and the Japan-Taiwan Treaty signed with Chiang Kai-shek had already waived the right to claim compensation.Zhou Enlai immediately gave a stern criticism after learning about it. He said: After 50 years of revolution, Chiang Kai-shek has long been overthrown by the Chinese people.At that time, Chiang had already fled to Taiwan. He signed the "Japan-Taiwan Treaty" after the conclusion of the San Francisco Peace Treaty, expressing his so-called abandonment of compensation claims.At that time, he could no longer represent the whole of China, which was due to the generosity of others.The war losses were mainly on the mainland.We started from the friendly relationship between the two peoples, so we gave up the demand for compensation.Chairman Mao advocated that the Japanese people should not pay compensation. I conveyed this to my Japanese friends, but your treaty director, Mr. Takashima, did not appreciate it, saying that Chiang Kai-shek had already said that no compensation should be paid. This statement is an insult to us and we absolutely cannot accept it. The "Japan-Taiwan Treaty" mentioned here is actually a "tail" left by the settlement of the Taiwan issue.Before Tanaka came to China, he had repeatedly stated in public that he "fully understood" China's three principles on the resumption of diplomatic relations. However, due to domestic political reasons, the Japanese side never said that one of the three principles, "the 'Japan-Taiwan Treaty' is illegal." , invalid, shall be abolished" commitment.During the talks, the Japanese side proposed to take care of their domestic situation and difficulties.Therefore, China agreed not to mention the "Japan-Taiwan Treaty" in the joint statement, but the Japanese side declared on another occasion that as a result of the normalization of Japan-China diplomatic relations, the "Japan-Taiwan Treaty" came to an end.Thus, the remaining question is when will the Japanese side make this statement. On the 27th, Zhou Enlai asked Tanaka and Daping face to face during the talks: Since the announcement of the joint statement, the two countries have established diplomatic relations. How long will it take for the two sides to exchange ambassadors?This sentence is actually asking when Japan will take specific actions to abolish the "Japan-Taiwan Treaty."Daping replied clearly: "We are determined to take the necessary measures as soon as possible." Zhou Enlai expressed his satisfaction.During the meeting the next day, Zhou Enlai wrote six words in Chinese on the spot: "Words must be believed, actions must be resolute" and handed them to Tanaka. Tanaka also wrote a sentence in the old Japanese constitution "Trust is the foundation of everything" and handed it to Zhou Enlai.Both China and Japan have expressed their attitude of mutual trust. On September 29, the signing ceremony of the "Joint Statement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of Japan" was held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.Premier Zhou Enlai, Foreign Minister Ji Pengfei, Prime Minister Tanaka, and Foreign Minister Ohira respectively signed the statement on behalf of their governments. The joint statement said: "As of the date of the announcement of this statement, the abnormal state between the People's Republic of China and Japan has come to an end." "The Government of Japan recognizes that the Government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government of China." "The Government of the People's Republic of China and Japan The Chinese government has decided to establish diplomatic relations from September 29, 1972." "The Japanese side feels deeply that Japan has been responsible for the heavy losses caused by the war to the Chinese people in the past, and expresses its deep remorse." "The government of the People's Republic of China announced: The friendship between the people of Japan and the two countries is renounced, and the claim for war compensation to Japan is renounced.” After the signing ceremony, Foreign Minister Ohira held a press conference for Chinese and foreign journalists, announcing: As a result of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and China, the "Japan-Taiwan Treaty" has lost its meaning of existence. It will be closed after the aftermath. From this day on, the history of Sino-Japanese relations has turned a new page. In 1972, China established diplomatic relations or upgraded its diplomatic institutions with 18 countries in the world, including many western developed countries.This is the year that China has established the most diplomatic relations with foreign countries since the founding of the People's Republic of China.A series of great achievements made by the People's Republic of China in diplomacy have brought about major changes in the world's political structure, and the prestige of New China has increased day by day. As the founder, decision-maker and practitioner of the diplomatic cause of the Republic, Zhou Enlai's great efforts and painstaking efforts, as well as the superhuman courage and wisdom he displayed, will go down in the annals of history and will be remembered forever.