China and Japan: How A Fishing Boat Led to a Headline Confrontation (Ford)

Several years ago, I worked with a talented Chinese student who wrote a Master's dissertation on the "textbook crisis" about Chinese objections to the portrayal of history in Japanese textbooks. Anger over the representation of Japan's invasion of China in the 1930s led to violent protests and Beijing's threats to reduce ties with Tokyo./p>

I was reminded of this all week as the Sino-Japanese tension escalated over Japan's interception of a Chinese trawler and detention of the captain. Amidst the mounting concern --- some Western media even speculated about what the US would do if China invaded Japan --- I expected the situation to be resolved. And on Friday, my prediction looked good when Japan released the Chinese captain.

Still, the episode illustrates how an apparently minor incident can be elevated to the status of diplomatic crisis....

Click to read more ...

China This Week: Sino-US Talks; No More Iran Sanctions; Sea Tension with Japan; Ties with Myanmar

High-level talks strengthen Sino-US ties: Lawrence Summers, the head of President Barack Obama's National Economic Council, and Deputy National Security Adviser Tom Donilon visited China from 5 to 8 September, seeking to iron out touchy issues in bilateral relations.

President Hu Jintao called said during a meeting on Wednesday, "Further comprehensive development of Sino-US relations is more important than ever before, as the global economic recovery is facing a variety of unstable and uncertain factors. China and the US should view the bilateral relationship from a global and strategic perspective."

Click to read more ...