Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) – China has replaced the United States as Japan's biggest trade partner. Several analysts point out that the relationship can only get stronger since relations, strained over the past few years, have been improving.
Bilateral trade reached 25.4 trillion yen (US$ 210 billion) in the last fiscal year (April 2006-March 2007). China (including Hong Kong) had already surpassed the United States in 2004, but now the mainland alone has become Japan's biggest trade partner.
Japan's exports to China have increased 21.2 per cent year-on-year, spearheaded by strong sales of semiconductors. Imports from China, on the other hand, also increased by 13 per cent as Japanese bought more garments from the mainland.
For years the two countries bickered over a wide range of issues. But ties between the two began to thaw recently after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Beijing last October, followed by Premier Wen Jiabao's trip to Tokyo earlier this month.
“Many Japanese manufacturers have transferred their assembly lines to China. They export semi-conductors or other components to the mainland, where these parts are assembled into the final products and then sold to other markets, or even back to Japan,” said Denis Kwan, a Hong Kong business consultant who specialises in the hi-tech industry.
“China is also emerging as a major consumer market for Japanese firms. The two countries' economies have become increasingly reliant on each other,” he said.
Such interdependence is set to deepen as Japanese manufacturers shift more of their production operations to China, seeking cheap labour costs and a foothold in the fast-growing Chinese economy.
Beijing’s interest lies instead in China’s need for foreign investments but also non polluting industrial technology and Japan is a leader in the sector. A mutually beneficial trade alliance is expected to emerge against US and European competition.