In the past half-century since Japan normalized diplomatic ties with China, their bilateral relationship has gone through tremendous changes.
In 1972, Japan’s gross domestic product was about three times that of China, but today, the size of the Japanese economy is one-third of the Chinese economy. Also in 1972, the amount of trade with China was 2% of Japan’s total trade value, but now it has increased to nearly a quarter.
And it’s not just about the economy and trade. Japan’s defense spending was 2.4 times that of China as of 1989, but currently Beijing’s defense spending has expanded to 5.4 times that of Tokyo.