The military chiefs of China and Japan, usually at odds over territorial and security issues, have found a rare opportunity to co-operate in the wake of Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami, but diplomatic concerns still linger amid the relief efforts, analysts say.
Defence Minister Liang Guanglie reached out to his Japanese counterpart, Toshimi Kitazawa, after the disaster, offering his condolences and the services of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to aid in the island nation's recovery. It was an opportunity for Beijing to ease strained ties and dial down the usual hostility with Tokyo.
Many Sino-Japanese organisations on the mainland are leading the charge by coming up with ways to offer help to Japan, according to Gao Haikuan, a specialist in Northeast Asian security with the China Association for International Friendly Contact.
Gao said at least 20 experts from a Beijing-based Sino-Japanese history study society, including scientists, radiation experts and architects who studied in Japan, had volunteered to help deal with post-disaster reconstruction.
'Since many Japanese showed their kindness and donated a lot of relief supplies and funds to Chinese victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, we now have an opportunity to repay them,' Gao said. 'We should let the Japanese public know that even though we have had disputes and disagreements as a result of history, we are still their friends.'
Other non-governmental organisations on the mainland are also raising funds for disaster victims.
At the national level, China was quick to offer a wide range of goods and services to Japan, from fresh water to fuel, food, first-aid supplies and other relief materials. Premier Wen Jiabao called his opposite number with an offer of assistance, and a 15-member Chinese rescue team landed in quake-hit Ofunato, Iwate prefecture, last Sunday, the first overseas team to conduct relief work in the city.