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.
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