45 Years of Normalized Sino-Japanese Relations

On September 29, 1972, Japan normalized diplomatic relations with China. It has now been forty-five years since that milestone, and bilateral relations have seen some colossal changes. Over the years, documents have been prepared to accommodate those changes: the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1978, the China-Japan Joint Declaration of 1998, and the China-Japan Joint Statement on Comprehensive Promotion of a “Mutually Beneficial Relationship Based on Common Strategic Interests,” which was issued in 2008. Together with the China-Japan Joint statement of 1972, these constitute the so-called four basic documents of Sino-Japanese relations. Adding to them is the four-point consensus recently agreed between the Shinzo Abe and Xi Jinping administrations, another document seen as outlining the basic provisions for diplomatic ties between China and Japan.