Trade war will have no winners

Translated from Beijing Youth Daily

By the end of last year, Japan had 2,487 non-manufacturing enterprises in China, 24.4 percent of its total around the world. Its trade volume with China accounts for 20.6 percent of its overall trade at global level.

As the market demands from Western economies continue to wither, the importance of the Chinese market to Japan becomes more obvious.

Yet, the stable development of trade and economic relations between the two countries looks uncertain as the Diaoyu Islands issue escalates. Sales of Japanese electronic products and cars declined markedly in the Chinese market last month.

Boycotting Japanese commodities is one way in which Chinese people can demonstrate their anger and patriotism.

Japan has the ability to solve the problem, caused by itself.

But Chinese consumers should also be conscious of the fact that neither China nor Japan will benefit from a trade war.

International trade is an important power boosting the recovery of the Chinese economy. If the civil trade war escalates into an official one, Chinese economic recovery will become more difficult.

China and Japan resumed their diplomatic ties 40 years ago. Even though Sino-Japanese ties were hindered by various conflicts during this period, trade and economic relations remained undisturbed and stable.

The islands issue has proved to be an unprecedented challenge for both sides. How the issue will affect bilateral ties depends on Japan’s future actions, because China’s attitude and principle are constant and firm.