The Ninth Tokyo-Beijing Forum drew to a close in Beijing on Oct. 27 after two days of serious discussions involving key figures from both countries and adopting a joint statement called the "Beijing Consensus" in which both parties agreed to a "no-war pledge."

The statement, read at the closing plenary session by Yasushi Kudo, president of The Genron NPO, or the Japanese co-host of the annual gathering, states in part:

"We reconfirm the crucial importance of four political documents exchanged between the governments of Japan and China, such as the Joint Communique and the Japan-China Peace and Friendship Treaty, and agree on the following points from the position of respecting efforts between the two countries to ensure their peaceful coexistence and development.

"Any confrontation should be solved by peaceful means, and it is peaceful coexistence, nothing else, that must be an ultimate goal to be pursued by the two countries. Whatever the provocation, the two countries should not resort to a military means to solve any kinds of confrontation and challenge, and they should consider how to avoid a dispute first of all. In other words, the two countries should not choose any kind of action that may lead to war.

"This "no-war pledge" must be supported not only by intellectuals from the two countries but also by a broad range of people in both countries. To this end, we will continuously organize dialogue that is open to the two countries' peoples, and provide the results of our dialogue to help facilitate efforts to establish favorable bilateral relations and a new political order in East Asia on the basis of healthy public opinion," the statement said.

More than 800 leaders from the political, business, academic and media fields from both countries took part in the two-day forum, co-hosted by China Daily, or the state-run English-language newspaper in China.

At the closing plenary session, former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda delivered an address in which he said that Japan and China should help each other. and cooperate in a variety of fields to enhance mutual trust and improve strained bilateral ties.

During his address, Fukuda talked about corporate executives of Japan's past, such as the late Konosuke Matsushita, founder of Matsushita Electric (present-day Panasonic). He explained that those executives did not solely pursue profit for their companies. They had a genuine desire to contribute to society and Fukuda noted that "this attitude is also necessary for those in charge of steering nations." Moreover, Fukuda laid out the foundations that he believes future Japanese diplomacy should be built upon, namely, that a sincere effort needs to be put into addressing the issues surrounding historical awareness and that in order to contribute to the world as a whole, the bare minimum effort should be put into maintaining military strength. He stated, "With the multi-polarization of the world, we should strengthen our relationships not only with the U.S. We should be aiming for multifaceted cooperation with our neighbors, such as China, Korea and Russia." Without this, Fukuda declared that, "peace and prosperity in 21st-century Japan will be impossible." He added that there is a set of specific principles and a basic spirit found in four important political documents signed by the two countries, including the "Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People's Republic of China." These principles and that spirit are "absolutely necessary contributions to the stability of East Asia and international society," not just the relationship between Japan and China. In addition, he called for China's further cooperation with the statement that, "If we just show that we have the will, we will be able to solve various issues around the world."

Wei Jianguo, vice chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchange, took the stage for the keynote lecture. Wei stated that fundamentally speaking, the two countries should only be separated by a narrow strip of water, but with the historical issues and the Diaoyu (Senkaku) Islands dispute, the relationship is in "an unpleasant state." Wei strongly asserted that, "The responsibility (for this situation) lies in the hands of Japan's political leaders."

Wei stated his belief that "I think this is why the relationship is now a cool one." He believes the blame lies there because, "Beginning with the participants in this Tokyo-Beijing Forum, people in both countries are making a steady effort into improving the relationship." Wei stressed that in deciding how to improve the Japan-China relationship, "The economic community should take the initiative to find a breakthrough for this difficult situation," and from that, public sentiment will improve, and thereby lead to a recovery in the relationship between the two governments.

Toshiro Mutoh, chairman of the board at Daiwa Institute of Research, Ltd. and a former deputy governor of the Bank of Japan, explained that the economic relationship between Japan and China has stagnated since the Japanese government nationalized the Senkaku (Diaoyu) Islands with "substantial reduction in various aspects, from trade, direct investment, and tourism."

Mutoh pointed out that as the world's second and third economic powers, a deterioration in China and Japan's economic relationship would have an effect not only on the lives of people in the two countries, but will have a great influence on the other economies of Asia and the rest of the world.

Mutoh said that the Japan-China economic relationship is nurtured on economic rationality and a path to the necessary solutions (to the current plight) can be found through calm consideration of this."

Mutoh thereby expressed his belief that rebuilding the economic relationship between Japan and China will lead to an improvement in their broader relationship. Moreover, Mutoh brought up that Article 3 of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and China touches on the fact that "the economies of both countries develop as one," and he stressed that, "we should go back to that starting point and put our efforts into normalizing the relationship between the two countries, and developing the economic relationship (further)."

Wu Jianmin, former Chinese ambassador to France, said, "There is a clear vision for the future of the China-Japan relationship, so there is no reason to despair for that future."

His reason for this belief lies within the four political documents signed between the countries mentioned previously by Fukuda. "When a problem arises between the two countries, (those documents) offer guiding principles to follow in finding a breakthrough," he said.

Wu believes that improving the relationship is made possible using those principles as a foothold. Moreover, Wu noted that East Asia sits at the heart of the world's economy, and that due to this, opportunities to forge stronger cooperative ties between Japan and China will only increase.

He further noted that the age of "war and revolution" has passed, and that now the world trend is toward "peace and development," which will serve to create favorable terms upon which the two countries can improve their relationship. Wu appealed to the Japanese delegation by saying, "Don't dread what lies before us. Let's create a beautiful future together."

Finally, Kazuo Ogoura, former president of the Japan International Exchange Foundation, delivered the keynote address. Ogura recognized that, "The countries around China are now feeling that China may pose a military threat, but when we consider the history of China having fallen victim to imperialism, it is understandable why China would be highly sensitive to issues of national security."

Understanding that sensitivity leads to the conclusion that "we need to offer China some reassurance," and Ogoura stressed that it is necessary to "share the spirit of the Japan-China Treaty of Friendship not just between our two countries, but among all of the countries in Asia."

In addition, Ogoura noted that Asia has a large impact on the rest of the world and therefore "we also have a large responsibility with the rest of the world." Ogura made a concrete recommendation regarding the future of the forum by suggesting that the Tokyo-Beijing Forum should not just be a dialogue between Japan and China, but it should entail "Japan and China standing side by side, sharing a blueprint for the future. It would be good if the forum could become a venue to transmit its ideas to rest of the world." (End)