BEIJING – China is considering resuming stalled talks with Japan toward signing a treaty on a joint gas drilling project in the East China Sea and may reach a final decision this month, sources involved in Sino-Japanese relations say.
Beijing is hoping to stabilize relations with Japan ahead of next year’s Chinese Communist Party Congress, when a major change in leadership is expected, the sources said. In addition, 2012 marks the 40th anniversary of the normalization of relations between the two countries.
However, the decision-making process in China will likely be complicated as it involves not only the Foreign Ministry but also various bodies of the government, party and military. Depending on the outcome of upcoming international meetings involving both countries, Beijing may decide to continue to put off a resumption of the talks, according to the sources.
China unilaterally postponed the talks after the first round was held in July last year. The move was made to protest Japan’s arrest of a Chinese trawler captain involved in a run-in in September last year with Japanese patrol ships trying to shoo his boat away from the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
The incident drove bilateral relations to their lowest point in many years.
“We are considering resuming the negotiations, but we must first get a clear picture of the Japanese government’s response and domestic public opinion in China,” a Chinese diplomatic source said.
Resumption of talks on the gas project may draw opposition from the Chinese public, many of whom are wary of Japan as they feel Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s administration is actively intervening in China’s territorial disputes in the South China Sea with other governments.
If the Noda government is seen as being hostile toward China at upcoming diplomatic gatherings such as the East Asia Summit and bilateral foreign ministerial talks later this month, Beijing may decide to continue delaying the resumption, the sources said.
Nonetheless, China has recently shown a more flexible stance compared with its dealings with Noda’s predecessor, Naoto Kan. In talks with Noda on Saturday in Honolulu, Chinese President Hu Jintao said China wants to continue communications with Japan and prepare for an early resumption of negotiations, a Japanese official said.