A. V. SEMIN Candidate of Political Sciences China Keywords:, Japan, USA, East Asia In the XXI century. Japan and China entered as the most powerful economic powers in Asia, influential players in world and regional politics. This year, China surpassed Japan in terms of gross domestic product (GDP). Economic and political stability in East Asia largely depends on the state of relations between the two countries, and they also affect world politics. At the beginning of this decade, relations between Japan and China were not stable and balanced, developing according to the scenario: "in the economy - hot, in politics - cold." Moreover, in 2001, the Tokyo - Beijing political dialogue, which had been regular in the 1990s, was interrupted. Disagreements over a range of political issues have escalated to such an extent that they threaten the development of trade, economic and other ties. Relations returned to normal only after the change of the Japanese leadership, when the Cabinet of Ministers headed by Dz resigned in 2006. Koizumi. ICE CRACKED The beginning of the thaw was marked by the official visit of the new Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Beijing in October 2006. The Joint Chinese-Japanese Statement stressed the parties ' desire to return to dialogue without preconditions and develop comprehensive cooperation. In fact, there was even more than a return to dialogue. For the first time, an agreement was reached on building "strategic mutually beneficial relations" between Japan and China. And this is despite the fact that in 1998, during the Japan-China summit in Tokyo, the Japanese side did not support Beijing's initiative to direct the development of its relations with Japan in a "strategic" direction. In April 2007 Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Wen Jiabao paid an official visit to Tokyo. He held talks with Prime Minister Abe, was received by Emperor Akihito, and delivered a speech to members of parliament. The local press desc ... Read more