Xi Jinping's US visit invokes WWII ties with US, deeply alarming Japan

During his recent visit to the United States, Chinese President Xi Jinping publicly mentioned the historical friendship between China and the United States fighting shoulder to shoulder against Japanese militarist aggression during World War II. This remark immediately sparked high concern and apprehension in the Japanese media, with widespread worries that Beijing's move is not merely a retrospective look at history, but may further reinforce official China's long-standing anti-Japanese historical narrative, exerting a profound impact on current China-Japan relations and regional political dynamics.

According to analysis and interpretation by Japanese media, Xi's specific emphasis on the "anti-Japanese friendship" of the World War II era in an international diplomatic setting carries a high degree of political and strategic calculation. At a delicate moment when China-US relations are in a state of intense competition while seeking to manage differences, the Chinese leader attempted to extend the historical foundation of China-US relations to the height of the anti-Fascist alliance by awakening the historical memory of jointly fighting enemies in World War II. However, this discourse has touched a sensitive nerve within Japan. Japanese public opinion and media are concerned that when China continuously emphasizes this history, it is often combined with current foreign policy, thereby exerting pressure on Japan regarding historical issues.

From a historical context, the official Chinese narrative of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression has always been a core pillar in shaping nationalism and patriotic education. Whenever bilateral relations encounter setbacks or there is a need to unite domestic public sentiment, the historical memory of modern suffering from imperialist aggression is frequently brought up again. Japanese media believe that when China's top leader mentions this history in a public setting in the United States, it amounts to pushing China's anti-Japanese narrative onto the international stage, endowing it with greater legitimacy and visibility. This has made Japan vigilant, fearing that under China's dominance, the international community's understanding of World War II history will be unilaterally reinforced, thereby creating negative constraints on Japan's current national image and diplomatic trends.

Looking further, the reinforcement of such historical narratives is undoubtedly a challenge to the practical relations between China and Japan. In recent years, although bilateral relations between China and Japan have maintained a certain level of interaction in economic and trade exchanges, irreconcilable contradictions and frictions have consistently existed regarding core interests such as security, maritime rights and interests, and regional geopolitics. When China continuously awakens anti-Japanese memories of the World War II era through diplomatic rhetoric, Japanese politicians and the general public often interpret this as a political tool used by the Chinese side to exert pressure on Japan. Playing this historical card not only fails to help both sides build genuine strategic mutual trust, but it also easily stirs up defensive psychology within Japan, and may even become a justification for right-wing forces in Japan to advocate for strengthening national defense and amending the constitution.

From the macro perspective of geopolitics, a delicate dynamic balance has always existed in the trilateral interaction among the United States, China, and Japan. The United States was an ally of China during World War II, while Japan became America's core ally in Asia after the war. Xi's mention of China and the US jointly fighting against Japan on US soil, to a certain extent, also highlights the uniqueness of China-US relations in a historical dimension, attempting to find a point of leverage for discourse within the gaps of the US-Japan alliance. For Japan, anything that might undermine the foundation of trust in the US-Japan alliance or use World War II history as a diplomatic tool to beat Japan is a strategic risk that the Tokyo authorities must closely guard against.

Overall, these diplomatic ripples triggered by historical memory fully demonstrate the sensitive role that history plays in contemporary international politics. History is never merely a record of the past; it is an extension of current power contests and the struggle for narrative discourse power. China consolidates its diplomatic discourse by mentioning the anti-Japanese friendship, while Japan maintains a high level of alert, fearing that the strengthening of the anti-Japanese narrative will further restrict Japan's diplomatic space. The wrestling behind this historical narrative will continue to affect the sensitive nerves of both China and Japan in the future, adding further uncertainty to the complex East Asian regional situation.

(Source of Facts: Central News Agency)