The relationship between the two nations — inseparable from a history of reform and opening up — is entering a new era after repeated cooperation and confrontation. This is the first installment of a series looking into challenges and possibilities of the bilateral ties.

Xi’s early stance

A total operational distance of approximately 25,000 kilometers, over 60 percent of the high-speed railways in the entire world — in the early 1990s, before this figure made China the high-speed railway giant it is now, a plan nearly came to fruition to build a Japanese Shinkansen line in Fujian Province between Fuzhou, the provincial capital, and major port city Xiamen.

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• The Yomiuri Shimbun

According to an official on the Japanese side at that time, the plan was for Japan to contribute 90 percent of the construction costs, which totaled approximately ¥400 billion. The Chinese government, however, threw a wrench in the plan by saying that if a high-speed railway were to be built, it should first connect Beijing and Shanghai. The plan collapsed around 1996.

One person who was enthusiastic about that plan was the then leader of Fuzhou and current head of China, Xi Jinping.

In May 1992, Xi gave a fervent speech to the city’s senior officials, saying, “If construction moves forward, I believe it will boost the economy of Fuzhou.”

Two years later, Xi is also said to have promoted the plan directly to then head of state Jiang Zemin when he toured Fuzhou.

While patriotic education caused anti-Japanese sentiment to rise under the Jiang administration, Xi took the stance of prioritizing practical benefit and not hesitating to accept Japanese investment. Having now entered the second term of his administration, Xi has solidified the “unipolar system” of drawing authority to himself, focusing on the gains and, according to a source on Japan-China relations, “seriously” working to improve relations with Japan.

Cards close to chest

In the middle of this May, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang spoke with greater passion than usual when he chaired a meeting of the central government’s State Council held in Beijing.

According to a Chinese government official with knowledge of the meeting, Li, who had just returned from a visit to Japan, offered the following impression when speaking in front of government ministers and agency heads about what he observed on his visits to an auto-related factory and a farming facility in Hokkaido: “It was a country more advanced than I imagined.”

With the Japanese government’s nationalization of the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture in September 2012, correspondence between the leaders of Japan and China had ceased, and relations between the countries worsened to the point of forming a “blank period,” according to a person connected to the Japanese government. In China, with the confidence of having passed Japan in 2010 to become the world’s No. 2 economy in terms of GDP, there were also assertions flying around of “ignoring” Japan, that “Japan was no longer relevant, and that China should deal directly with the United States,” according to a Chinese diplomatic source.

However, when Li visited Japan for the first time in a quarter century — and the first time for any Chinese premier in seven years — he is said to have gotten the impression, according to an official related to the Chinese Communist Party, that “there is a great difference between what is seen and what is heard” regarding Japan’s “national strength,” which is difficult to express in economic indicators. A Japanese government official who joined the tour revealed that Li heaped praise on Japan’s modernized agriculture and advanced technology, which surprised those around him.

At the Japan-China Governors’ Forum held in Sapporo, Li touched on the grave issue of China’s declining birthrate and aging population and called for stronger cooperation between Japan and China, saying, “In the field of medical instruments and areas that employ robots, Japan has advanced technology and experience.”

There is no way that Li’s series of comments about Japan did not have the approval of Xi, as he holds authority to decide foreign policy. It appears that the policy of “learning from Japan once again” is shared by the entire Chinese leadership.

The Xi administration, fretting over unpredictable trade friction with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, is being pressured by the need to secure its footing against the United States, a position that includes improved relations with Japan. Xi’s administration is aiming not only to use Japanese know-how for solving domestic issues such as environmental conservation and medical and nursing care, but also to keep an eye on Japanese actions toward involvement with China’s One Belt and One Road Initiative (see below), a massive economic zone that would counter the United States.

However, the Communist administration is not wholly devoted to improving relations with Japan. This is because its history of “victory against Japanese aggression” is the backbone of legitimizing one-party rule. The Patriotic Education Bases built all over the country during the administration of Jiang number over 400.

At the end of May, a man who shared a video at a wedding ceremony parade in Tianjin of him riding a motorcycle while dressed in an old Japanese military uniform was forced to make a public apology online. Chinese people who glorify militarist-era Japan, such as by dressing up in such a manner, are referred to as “jing ri” — an abbreviation of the Chinese term “jingshen ribenren” (Japanese at heart). It has gained traction among a section of Chinese youth who were raised on Japanese manga and anime, and was not seen as much of a problem until now.

Since last year, however, the authorities have repeatedly exposed “jing ri” in Nanjing and Shanghai, and in March this year, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi criticized them by deriding them as “a waste of Chinese.” The Heroes and Martyrs Protection Law enacted in May can go as far as to charge “jing ri” acts with criminal liability.

Last autumn, group travel to Japan, which had been on an upward trajectory, was suddenly restricted on a national scale across China. Many believe that this was a measure to warn Chinese people that public opinion had grown too “pro-Japanese.” A Japanese airline company executive who has lived for many years in China said, “Although you could say there is a trend toward improved relations, this shows that Japan and China’s relationship is a peculiar one.”

A source on Japan-China relations said: “Even while relations are friendly, we cannot forget restraint. That is China’s consistent policy toward Japan.”

The switch to play the “anti-Japan” card — used to distract Chinese from problems both domestic and foreign — always remains in the hands of the Communist Party administration.

■ One Belt and One Road Initiative

Proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2013. Through supporting the building of infrastructure, it aims to bolster influence in surrounding countries. The initiative was first conceived to primarily affect those countries bordering the initiative’s overland route from China to Europe and its sea route connecting the South China Sea with the Indian Ocean. Now, however, it has expanded to include the entire world.Speech

The Prime Minister, who is on a five-day visit to China, also hoped Beijing could lend a helping hand to solve the problems plaguing Putrajaya.

“We hope to get China to understand the problem faced by Malaysia today and believe it would look sympathetically towards the problem we need to resolve.

“And perhaps help us resolve some of our internal fiscal problems,” he said.

While Dr Mahathir had stopped short of specifying the problem, the Pakatan Harapan government had said that the country’s debt is now above RM1 trillion.

The new administration was also critical of the “lopsided” deals with China and moved to suspend projects with Chinese investment, such as the East Coast Rail Link, the Multi-Product Pipeline and the Trans-Sabah Gas Pipeline.

During this visit, Dr Mahathir had stressed that Malaysia was not against any Chinese firms and that he welcomed Chinese businessmen to invest in Malaysia.

At the press conference, Dr Mahathir said Malaysia had much to gain from China and believes that Chinese investment could bring down the unemployment rate in the country.

“Malaysia has a policy of being friendly to every country in the world irrespective of its ideology. This is because we need to have a market for our produce,” he said while expressing hope that Malaysia would become a South-East Asian hub for new technology being developed in China.

“China has great entrepreneurs with innovative ideas in doing business that Malaysians can learn from.

“China has got a lot that will be beneficial to us. It is a big and rich market created by very dynamic people,” he said.

Asked about his views on the trade war between China and the United States, Dr Mahathir said Malaysia would support free and fair trade.

He said he did not want to see this trade war becoming a new form of colonialism.

Dr Mahathir’s trip, which ends today, is his first official visit to China since his return to helm the country.

Ministers joining him on the trip are Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok, International Trade and Industry Minister Ignatius Darell Leiking, Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Salahuddin Ayub, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong and Entrepreneurial Development Minister Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof.

Meanwhile, Dr Mahathir also had a closed-door meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping yesterday evening at the Diaoyutai State Guest House.

Accompanied by his wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, he later attended a dinner hosted by Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan.

Bernama reported that Dr Mahathir gave the assurance to Xi that there would be no changes in policy towards under the new Malaysian government.

He told Xi that he was impressed with the level of development achieved by China.

“We see China as a model for development,” he said.

Mohammad Asem, also a business teacher at Tejgaon College, and his cohorts raked in about Tk 25 crore, which is evident in their financial transactions, said Molla Nazrul Islam, special superintendent of Organised Crime Division of Criminal Investigation Department.

He was arrested at the capital’s Karwan Bazar.

“We believe the syndicate trafficked hundreds of people to Malaysia. They have probably raked in a lot more … up to Tk 100 crore. We are investigating into it,” the officer told a press conference at the CID headquarters yesterday.

People trafficking in the region dominated global headlines for days after mass graves of Rohingyas and Bangladeshis were discovered in southern Thailand and northern Malaysia in mid-2015.

Asem’s father Anowar Hossain and elder brother Mohammad Khobaid, who have been living in Malaysia for many years, are also involved in trafficking, the CID officer said.

Others suspected of being connected to the syndicate include Asem’s younger brother Javed Mostafa, mother Khadiza and cohorts Arif, Ekram, Osman Sawar and Arifuzzaman Akand, he said.

“We went to Asem’s home in Maulavipara [in Teknaf], but found no one,” he said.

“Mohammad Asem seems to be the kingpin of the human trafficking syndicate.”

Asem was granted bail by Metropolitan Magistrate Subrata Ghosh Shubha after police produced him before the court yesterday.

Between May 1 and the end of July, 2015, Thai authorities exhumed 36 bodies from mass graves – apparently of Rohingyas and Bangladeshis — in the southern region while 139 mass graves were found in Malaysia.

UN Refugee Agency said 8,000 people were estimated to have been stranded at sea in May 2015 before Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia decided to accept them.

It said some 84,000 people boarded boats from the coasts of Bangladesh and Myanmar between January 2014 and March 2015.

In mid-2015, it was estimated that over 1,100 people died in the seas since 2014.

ASEM’S ARREST

Police came to know about him after the father of a trafficking victim in March 2016 filed a case with Ullapara Police Station in Sirajganj.

Abdus Salam filed the case under Human Trafficking Prevention and Suppression Act 2012.

He complained that people traffickers sent his son Masud to Malaysia in 2014, held him hostage and demanded Tk 3.10 lakh in ransom, Nazrul told reporters.

Salam was asked to pay the money to a bank account in Dhaka.

Salam mentioned in the case that he paid the money but Masud was not freed, the officer said.

“As the case was referred to the CID, we investigated and found Asem and his syndicate’s involvement.”

Eventually, CID Inspector Abdur Razzaq filed a case with Banani Police Station on May 2 last year under the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2012 which led to Asem’s arrest on Sunday.

A CID official said Asem was first arrested on August 14 and produced before a Dhaka court.

The court placed him on a three-day remand. On a later date, the court granted him bail, rejecting CID’s prayer for a further 10-day remand.

The CID again arrested him on Sunday in another case filed in 2015 with Bajitpur Police Station in Kishoreganj under the human trafficking prevention act.

Nazrul said Asem became involved in trafficking in 2010 through his brother Khobaid and father Anwar.

Asem and his younger brother Javed recruited brokers in various parts of the country.

They wooed fortune seekers and put them on board rickety boats. Once they arrived in the Thai jungles, the racketeers held them hostage in camps and forced them to call their families asking for ransom.

“People were even tortured and killed if their families at home failed to pay the ransom.

Asem and his family members had bank accounts in Dhaka, Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar and Teknaf.

His father Anwar, a Rohingya, came from Myanmar’s Rakhine in the 1960s and started living in Maulavipara, reports our correspondent in Cox’s Bazar.

He went to Malaysia in the 1990s, locals said.

Asem’s brother Javed has a clothes shop in Teknaf, which is actually used as a front, locals said.

The two-day meeting, held last week saw delegates holding discussions focussing on the sharing of best practices to address the challenges emerging from the prevalence of cybercrime.

Initiating discussions, Attorney General of Brunei Darussalam Haji Abdul Majid as chairperson of the conference, informed the meeting that the conference’s theme ‘Enhancing Capabilities and Cooperation in Addressing Cybercrime’ was selected due to cybercrime’s increasing negative effects on society.

“I hope that the deliberations and discussions during the conference would allow the participating countries and their prosecutors to derive best practices from each other, as part of an overall effort to constantly improve existing mechanisms as well as to advocate and formulate new measures which are practical and efficient to address transnational crime,” he said.

Following up on the Attorney General’s statements, Prosecutor General of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate of the People’s Republic of China Zhang Jun as conference co-chair, expressed his gratitude to the government of Brunei Darussalam for hosting the conference.

“The year 2018 marks the 15th anniversary of the ‘Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity’ joint declaration between China and Asean where both sides have agreed to work together for mutual benefit, adhering to the themes of cooperation and development,” he said.

“The China-Asean Prosecutor-General conference mechanism had brought Asean member states and China closer together.

“Together we’ve also achieved milestones such as the setting up of an official website for the ‘China-AseanProsecutor General Conference’ and the establishment of a training base for China-Asean prosecutors in Guangxi province in China.”

He added that he hoped to see the continued convening of the conference to foster high-level exchange visits, judiciary assistance in criminal cases, as well as direct cooperation among prosecutorial organs in border regions to stamp out transnational crime so as to contribute to regional peace, stability and common prosperity.

Commenting on the conference’s theme, Zhang stated that cybercrime remains “an arduous challenge for all countries in the world” and that it is the “obligatory social responsibility” for prosecutorial organs to crack down on cybercrime and protect information security.

He urged his fellow conference delegates to continue working to break through traditional modes of legal cooperation in order to more effectively fight cybercrime.

The first day of the conference yesterday saw several keynote speeches being delivered by heads of delegations from the China-Asean region as well as representatives from Hong Kong and Macau.

Brunei Darussalam’s keynote speech was delivered by Solicitor General and Head of the delegation of Brunei Darussalam Zuraini binti Haji Sharbawi.

Zuraini highlighted the pressing need to “formulate appropriate and innovative ways to combat cybercrime and to ensure that perpetrators do not get away with circumventing the laws and regulations” , especially in light of the rise in cyber-attacks on institutions and businesses, as well as the increased use of social media to breed extremism and terrorism.

In addition to the various initiatives taken by the Brunei government – in particular the Attorney General’s chambers – in addressing cybercrime, she also informed the conference that countries need to better combat the problem, through effective legislation concerning data preservation, the use of informal networks in order to facilitate international cooperation, as well as increasing information sharing amongst each other.