History of China–Japan relations

The history of China–Japan relations spans thousands of years through trade, cultural exchanges, friendships, and conflicts. Japan has deep historical and cultural ties with China; cultural contacts throughout its history have strongly influenced the nation – including its writing system architecture, cuisine, culture, literature, religion, philosophy, and law. China, in return, has been deeply influenced by Japan.

The first mention of the Japanese archipelago was in the Chinese historic text Book of the Later Han, in the year 57, in which it was noted that the Han dynasty gave a golden seal to Wa. During the Sui dynasty and Tang dynasty, Japan sent many students on a limited number of Imperial embassies to China. In 663 the Battle of Baekgang took place, the first China–Japan conflict in recorded history. Japan sought ties with China after the fall of the Paekche, with whom Japan was closely allied. Trade began with the two nations, and important elements were brought back from China, including Buddhist teachings, Chinese customs and culture, bureaucracy, architecture and city planning. Japan attempted to invade Korea in the 16th century, but was defeated by Joseon and the Ming dynasty. Direct trade with China was limited by the Tokugawa shogunate after 1633, when Japan decided to close all direct links with the foreign world.

Large-scale trade between the two nations began in the 1860s. After old Tokugawa shogunate was overthrown during the Meiji Restoration, Japan rapidly modernized and started to see the Qing dynasty as weak. Japan achieved victory in the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95, forcing China to sign the Treaty of Shimonoseki, forcing China to recognize the independence of Korea and cede Taiwan and the Penghu Islands to Japan. Japanese troops participated in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. Many Chinese students had also studied in Japan and was also used as a base by Chinese political activists to overthrow the imperial Qing dynasty in 1912. Following the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, Japan occupied the German colony of Qingdao and secretly demanded extensive concessions from China. Though forced to back down, Japan provided financial support to China through the Nishihara Loans, and pressured China into signing the secret Sino-Japanese Joint Defence Agreement in 1918. in 1919, China was refused a return of the former German concessions, leading to the May Fourth Movement.

In 1931, the Japanese army staged the Mukden Incident, using it as justification to invade northeast China and establish the puppet state Manchukuo. Between 1931 and 1937 there were intermittent clashes. In July 1937, the conflict escalated after the Marco Polo Bridge incident, marking the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Japan made rapid territorial advancements in China and committed numerous war crimes, including the Nanjing Massacre and Unit 731. After the defeat of Japan in 1945, China regained all lost territories. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, relations were tense, with Japan continuing to recognize the Republic of China based in Taiwan. Japan established diplomatic relations with the PRC in 1972. Since then, trade has expanded greatly between the two nations and despite geopolitical disagreements are generally at peace with each other.