Nationalism is on the rise in China, but scholars disagree on the cause
Rising nationalism in China and Japan is driving a wedge between the two Asian giants, despite their growing interdependence. But there are many factors at play in this love-hate relationship and it would be simplistic to lay the blame on nationalistic sentiments alone.
Rivalry between Beijing and Tokyo has long dominated the political landscape in East Asia and may well determine prosperity or ruin for the region. Yet in spite of their fast-growing trade and increasing needs for co-operation in almost every field - ranging from the nuclear issue in North Korea to environmental protection - ties between the neighbours have moved decidedly backwards in the past few years.
That Premier Wen Jiabao's arrival in Tokyo today will mark the start of the first visit by a Chinese leader to Japan in seven years speaks volumes as to how frosty the relationship has become.
Relations dropped to their lowest point after several unprecedented anti-Japanese protests broke out in mainland cities in spring 2005 - triggered by Tokyo's approval of a new textbook, which critics said whitewashed Japan's wartime atrocities. A few weeks earlier, millions of Chinese signed an online petition against Japan's attempt to gain a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Calls for a boycott of Japanese goods are frequently heard today on the mainland.
The sheer intensity of the anti-Japanese sentiment among young people on the mainland has taken many western observers aback. Internet discussion forums are constantly filled with Japan-bashing - often expressed in hateful and even violent language.
