China-Japan Relations

Kishore Mahbubani singled out for praise the example of how China had made peace with Japan, when taking the United States to task for not seizing the many opportu-nities available to improve ties with Iran.

Indeed, Kishore noted that the political differences within the China-Japan relationship are just as difficult and intractable as other relationships, and even more so, given that thirty-five million Chinese were killed in the Japanese occupation.

"Nevertheless, since China has a deep national interest in preserving good ties with all of its neighbors, it is prepared to accept Deng’s advice to “swallow bitter humiliation." (The New Asian Hemisphere, The Irresistible Shift Of Global Power To the East, Public Affairs, 2008)

The Chinese leadership also took a long term view “in a way that few western leaders seem capable of doing", and that, in Kishore's view, is especially remarkable given that few major nations have been "as painfully humiliated as China has been in the past two hundred years."

"If the Chinese wanted to focus on their previous wounds and humiliation, they would have plenty to work with. The decision not to do so reflects a very carefully thought-out strategy. Eventually, as China becomes strong and powerful, its neighbors will have to adapt to its rise and acknowledge China's power."

And when that time comes, or that time may even have arguably arrived, Kishore noted that China will not need to impose its views on others, yet others will eventually adjust, especially if China succeeds in its "single-minded goal of promoting economic development."