Postwar Japan-China Relations: A Timeline
Politics
With Chinese President Xi Jinping scheduled to make a state visit to Japan in spring 2020, here is a look at the major events in the postwar relations between Japan and China.
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Japan has deep historical and cultural ties with China, and its neighbor’s economic development brought stronger connections, as it became Japan’s largest trading partner. While there has been a cooling down between them due to disagreement over historical issues, momentum is building to improve political relations.
| Date | Events |
|---|---|
| 1949 | People’s Republic of China established. |
| 1952 | Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty signed in Taipei, the Republic of China (Taiwan). |
| September 1972 | Normalization of relations between Japan and the People’s Republic of China. |
| October 1972 | First pandas (Lan Lan and Kang Kang) come from China to Ueno Zoo in Tokyo. |
| August 1978 | Treaty of Peace and Friendship signed between Japan and the People's Republic of China. |
| October 1978 | Vice President Deng Xiaoping makes the first official Chinese state visit to Japan since the end of World War II. He meets with Emperor Shōwa. |
| 1982 | Controversy arises over content related to World War II in Japanese history textbooks. |
| June 1989 | Chinese government declares martial law and suppresses student protests in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. |
| October 1992 | Emperor Akihito visits China. |
| November 1998 | Chinese President Jiang Zemin visits Japan as a state guest to commemorate 20 years of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship. |
| August 2001 | Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi Jun’ichirō visits Yasukuni Shrine. The last serving prime minister to attend was Hashimoto Ryūtarō in July 1996. Koizumi’s visits continue until 2006. |
| 2005 | A number of large anti-Japan demonstrations occur in China protesting issues such as perceptions of war history and the visits to Yasukuni Shrine, where Japanese war criminals are among those enshrined. |
| October 2006 | Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzō visits China, the first such trip in five years. An agreement is reached to establish a relationship between the two countries based on strategic reciprocity. |
| May 2008 | Chinese President Hu Jintao makes a state visit to Japan. |
| December 2009 | Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping visits Japan and meets with Emperor Akihito. |
| September 2010 | Chinese fishing vessel collides with Japanese Coast Guard patrol boats near the Senkaku Islands. |
| October 2010 | The Chinese side cancels the planned summit meeting in Hanoi between Japanese Prime Minister Kan Naoto and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. |
| December 2011 | Prime Minister Noda Yoshihiko officially visits China. |
| September 2012 | Japan nationalizes the Senkaku Islands. Anti-Japan demos are held across China and there is an increase in Chinese government vessels intruding into Japanese waters. |
| December 2013 | Prime Minister Abe visits Yasukuni Shrine. |
| November 2014 | Prime Minister Abe and President Xi Jinping hold a summit at APEC. |
| May 2018 | Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visits Japan. |
| October 2018 | On the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and China, Prime Minister Abe visits China, the first visit by a Japanese leader in 7 years. It is announced that aid to China in the form of official development assistance will come to an end since it has fulfilled its historical role. |
| June 2019 | President Xi visits Japan for the first time as Chinese leader to attend the G20 Summit. |
| Spring 2020 | President Xi scheduled to make a state visit to Japan. |
| 2022 | Fiftieth anniversary of the normalization of relations between Japan and China. |
(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo: Japanese Prime Minister Tanaka Kakuei and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai during a summit meeting to discuss normalization of relations between their two countries in Beijing, China, in September 1972. © Jiji.)