China-Japan economic, trade cooperation contributes to world economic growth: Japanese expert

As the world economy is slowing down, closer cooperation between China and Japan will contribute to world economic growth, Noriyoshi Ehara, chief economist at the Institute of International Trade and Investment in Tokyo, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

China is Japan's largest trading partner while Japan ranks high among China's major trading partners, the economist said. In a recent survey of Japanese companies, 60 per cent said they intend to expand their presence in China, reflecting the close economic ties between the two countries.

The economic and trade exchanges between Japan and China have generally shown a growing trend. Although adverse factors such as the rise of trade protectionism and the decline of trade have had a certain impact on Japan-China economic and trade development, bilateral trade has maintained steady development, he said.

According to the expert, as the world economy is plagued by trade protectionism, multilateralism must be upheld, and Japan and China hold exactly the same position on this point.

The International Monetary Fund has cut the world economic growth rate to 3.0 per cent this year in its latest issue of World Economic Outlook Report. Ehara believes that trade protectionism has a major impact on the global economy. As the second and third largest economies in the world, cooperation between China and Japan is of great significance and closer economic cooperation is crucial to the steady growth of the world economy.

In his view, there are three major areas for economic exchanges between the two countries in the future. The first is China's investment in Japan. Secondly, Japanese and Chinese enterprises cooperate in various forms to explore third-party markets, while new business models continue to emerge and support the future world economy. Thirdly, both countries will expand and deepen exchanges in the fourth industrial revolution.

"These will become the the key areas of Japan-China cooperation in the future and one of the driving forces for the sustainable development of the world economy," he added.

The economist said that the industrial structure of Japan and China complements each other on the whole, while China has enjoyed a comparatively high development level in its 5G related industries, and even surpassed Japan in some of the industries.

As this year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and Japan has entered the new era of Reiwa, Ehara said building a new relationship in a new era is of great significance not only for the two neighbours, but also for the world.