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Past imperfect but future far from tense(1)
Talk of skills on the soccer field and the Brazilians readily come to mind. The very mention of baseball reminds people of the Americans. There are people in other countries who are, or were, associated with one sport or the other, but perhaps none have used it on the diplomatic field as successfully as China. Beijing's ping-pong diplomacy began in 1971 and opened the door for people-to-people exchanges between China and the US.
President Hu Jintao (center) talks with journalists from 16 Japanese media organizations at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sunday. [Xinhua]
President Hu Jintao will now extend the ping-pong diplomacy to Japan on his five-day visit to that country that begins today to win the heart and soul of that country's people. Adding real skill and charm to his endeavor will be Wang Nan, one of China's most successful table tennis players. But she will pair with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda. Giving company to Hu will be Ai Fukuhara, the darling of Japanese table tennis.
Hu's visit to Japan is the first by a Chinese head of state in 10 years, marking another big step toward warmer bilateral relations. As the president told Beijing-based journalists of 16 Japanese media houses on Sunday, he said he hopes the two peoples' friendship would experience a warm spring.
"I think such an arrangement (the ping pong game) is a great thing because it would give the Japanese people the chance to see the lighter and relaxed side of Hu," says Akio Takahara, a professor with Tokyo University's Graduate School of Law & Politics. "It will make the Japanese feel close to him ... and it will help them better understand China and the Chinese people through a closer look at Hu's overall personality."
The new round of ping-pong diplomacy follows last year's "baseball diplomacy" of Premier Wen Jiabao, and reflects the two governments' efforts to add cultural and sporting flavor to high-level political visits. Wen first tried his hand at baseball with students at Kyoto's Ritsumeikan University during his visit to Japan in April last year. The university jersey he wore had his name and the number 35 - representing the 35th anniversary of the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations. Wen put on the uniform again after his breakfast meeting with Fukuda at a State guesthouse in Beijing in December. A baseball player in high school, Fukuda wore a plain red-and-white uniform to join Wen on the field.
Politics, however, is the core of bilateral relations, something the two governments are trying to add momentum to. Expectedly, politics will dominate the first leg of Hu's visit in Tokyo, where he is scheduled to hold talks with Fukuda and other senior Japanese leaders. "This is a forward-looking trip," says Liu Jiangyong, a professor with Tsinghua University's Institute of International Studies in Beijing. "The two leaders will come up with strategic ideas on the long-term development of China-Japan ties."
Elaborating the importance of Hu's historic visit, China's ambassador to Japan Cui Tiankai wrote in People's Daily recently that it reflected Beijing's earnest efforts to strengthen its ties with Japan.
"It is very important," says Yasushi Akashi, a senior Japanese diplomat with the UN. "I hope his visit succeeds in further strengthening bilateral relations." Akashi is a political appointee, and as the International Civil Servant at the UN Secretariat Headquarters in New York, he has held the posts of Under-Secretary-General of Public Information, Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs and Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.
The two governments have been doing everything possible to strengthen bilateral ties, especially on the political front. Such an exercise had become necessary after former Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi' soured bilateral relations by regularly visiting the infamous Yasukuni Shrine during his tenure in offices. His insistence on paying homage at the shrine that honors World War II convicts, including 14 class-A war criminals, created the worst impasse in bilateral ties since Beijing and Tokyo normalized diplomatic relations in 1972.
President Hu Jintao (center) talks with journalists from 16 Japanese media organizations at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sunday. [Xinhua]
President Hu Jintao will now extend the ping-pong diplomacy to Japan on his five-day visit to that country that begins today to win the heart and soul of that country's people. Adding real skill and charm to his endeavor will be Wang Nan, one of China's most successful table tennis players. But she will pair with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda. Giving company to Hu will be Ai Fukuhara, the darling of Japanese table tennis.
Hu's visit to Japan is the first by a Chinese head of state in 10 years, marking another big step toward warmer bilateral relations. As the president told Beijing-based journalists of 16 Japanese media houses on Sunday, he said he hopes the two peoples' friendship would experience a warm spring.
"I think such an arrangement (the ping pong game) is a great thing because it would give the Japanese people the chance to see the lighter and relaxed side of Hu," says Akio Takahara, a professor with Tokyo University's Graduate School of Law & Politics. "It will make the Japanese feel close to him ... and it will help them better understand China and the Chinese people through a closer look at Hu's overall personality."
The new round of ping-pong diplomacy follows last year's "baseball diplomacy" of Premier Wen Jiabao, and reflects the two governments' efforts to add cultural and sporting flavor to high-level political visits. Wen first tried his hand at baseball with students at Kyoto's Ritsumeikan University during his visit to Japan in April last year. The university jersey he wore had his name and the number 35 - representing the 35th anniversary of the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations. Wen put on the uniform again after his breakfast meeting with Fukuda at a State guesthouse in Beijing in December. A baseball player in high school, Fukuda wore a plain red-and-white uniform to join Wen on the field.
Politics, however, is the core of bilateral relations, something the two governments are trying to add momentum to. Expectedly, politics will dominate the first leg of Hu's visit in Tokyo, where he is scheduled to hold talks with Fukuda and other senior Japanese leaders. "This is a forward-looking trip," says Liu Jiangyong, a professor with Tsinghua University's Institute of International Studies in Beijing. "The two leaders will come up with strategic ideas on the long-term development of China-Japan ties."
Elaborating the importance of Hu's historic visit, China's ambassador to Japan Cui Tiankai wrote in People's Daily recently that it reflected Beijing's earnest efforts to strengthen its ties with Japan.
"It is very important," says Yasushi Akashi, a senior Japanese diplomat with the UN. "I hope his visit succeeds in further strengthening bilateral relations." Akashi is a political appointee, and as the International Civil Servant at the UN Secretariat Headquarters in New York, he has held the posts of Under-Secretary-General of Public Information, Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs and Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.
The two governments have been doing everything possible to strengthen bilateral ties, especially on the political front. Such an exercise had become necessary after former Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi' soured bilateral relations by regularly visiting the infamous Yasukuni Shrine during his tenure in offices. His insistence on paying homage at the shrine that honors World War II convicts, including 14 class-A war criminals, created the worst impasse in bilateral ties since Beijing and Tokyo normalized diplomatic relations in 1972.
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