Relations between China and Japan are gradually thawing and becoming warmer as the two countries fight against "common enemy nCoV".

"Transatlantic paints, heavenly maple" (Mountains and rivers, but roaring the sky) is a verse printed on the outside of each mask barrel and thermometer sent by the Japan Youth Development Association (JYDA) China is part of its support to help its neighbor in the fight against Covid-19.

This is a verse that was sent to the Zen master by the nephew of the Japanese Emperor Ganjin more than 1,300 years ago and inspired him to spread Buddhism in Japan. Now, the verse is inspiring a lot of Chinese people and is mentioned in more than 39,000 posts on the social network Weibo. Even former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama shared it on Twitter.

In the battle against Covid-19, an epidemic that left 2,800 people dead and more than 82,000 cases globally, Japan showed itself to be an ally with China against the common enemy.

Earlier this month, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Geng Sheng praised Japanese support. Canh, meanwhile, criticized the United States for overreacting to evacuate consulate staff in Wuhan and banned Chinese entry.

The verse also adds a warmth in the relationship between Japan and China, stemming from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to Beijing in 2018. When both Tokyo and Beijing insisted that the President's visit Xi Jinping to Japan next April will not be canceled because of the Covid-19 epidemic, a new concern that many people focus on is how to strengthen the second and third economies in the world.

The dispute over the sovereignty of the Senkaku / Diaoyu Islands group in the East China Sea and the conflicts from World War II have "frozen" Sino-Japanese relations for decades. Whenever the two countries were tense, the Chinese people frequently referred to the crimes committed by the Imperial Japanese Army in this country during World War II.

Although some Japanese leaders expressed their regret about the military's actions at that time, many Chinese still believed that Japan did not fully acknowledge the crimes committed in history.

Sino-Japanese tensions erupted in 2013 over the Senkaku / Diaoyu Islands dispute, causing bilateral relations to deteriorate rapidly. At the time, 92.8% of Chinese had a bad impression of Japan, according to a survey of China-Japan relations conducted by the non-profit Genron organization every year. However, by 2019, the number of Chinese people with a negative view of Japan has dropped to almost half, to only 52.8%.

As a result, Prime Minister Abe's efforts to warm up President Xi's relationship with President Xi Jinping have passed numerous negotiations to resolve disputes and restore bilateral relations. The two leaders met and shook hands at the 2014 APEC conference.

"This is the first step on the road to improving bilateral relations based on the principle of mutually beneficial strategic principles," Prime Minister Abe said after the meeting in 2014.

As the political relationship flourished, the Chinese began to travel to Japan to travel and have a more positive view of the country's culture, according to Yasushi Kudo, president of Genron.

In 2018, about 8.38 million Chinese visitors visited Japan, an increase of 6 times compared to 2013. Chinese visitors also watch Japanese animated films on an online video streaming platform like Bilibili, with about 37, 6 million daily users. They look for more information about Japan on social networks than on domestic news sites.

While the younger generation of Chinese with greater purchasing power to Japan is increasing, Japan sees the opposite. As the economy shrinks and the young generation in the country faces problems such as aging of the population and unimproved incomes, few people have the need to travel abroad.

"You can be impressed with a country when you go there and make friends with people. But not many Japanese come to China, so their view of this country is based on domestic media," Kudo said.

However, Japan is trying to make Chinese tourists feel welcome with signs and announcements in Chinese in public places in Tokyo.

Shuichi Kato, the owner of a Kyoto-based travel company, has sent 15,000 masks to mainland China as well as Hong Kong and Taiwan, saying visitors from these areas are exit routes for business. his. "Asian friends have helped our region become an international tourist attraction," Kato said.

As of Feb. 18, Japanese private businesses have donated more than three million masks and nearly 44 million yen (US $ 6.3 million) to the fight against the Covid-19 epidemic in China.

Nothing can help the two former enemies get closer together that they face issues of mutual concern. In May 2018, President Xi and Prime Minister Abe had the first phone conversation in history to discuss denuclearization on the Korean peninsula. A few months later, Mr. Abe became the first Japanese leader to visit China in nearly 7 years.

After that, China and Japan organized the first forum to strengthen cooperation between the two countries with Thailand, a country with friendly diplomatic relations with both Beijing and Tokyo. Finally, the two sides signed cooperation agreements worth US $ 18 million.

Recently, China - Japan have come closer together after US President Donald Trump's announcement of the trade war with the two countries, according to Koichi Nakano, a professor of political science at Sophia University.

"Before Trump appeared, Xi and Abe did not have such a good relationship. Now their relationship is like a 'marriage of interest' to deal with a common threat," Nakano said.

Prime Minister Abe's support for China in the fight against Covid-19 may have helped further strengthen ties with Xi, but it is indignant for Japanese hawks. , as the country is also struggling to control its own nCoV.

"Compared to other countries, Japan has a fairly gentle reaction in stopping the influx of Chinese from the territory. Some supporters of Mr. Abe are angry about that, because they think he has a relationship. with Xi Jinping on national security, "Nakano added.

Despite recent improvements in relations, basically, the two countries still have conflicting views on the future of the Asia-Pacific region and China's role in it. The issue of territorial disputes in the East China Sea has not disappeared, but has been temporarily left behind by both sides.

China has recently relentlessly consolidated its naval forces in the East China Sea at a rate that no other country can match. In response, Japan in 2019 also announced the allocation of many resources to build forces to protect offshore islands, before the risk of Chinese encroachment.

Although it still needs trade cooperation with China, Japan is not willing to give up the "security umbrella" of the US military and has built other cooperation blocks in the region to counter Chinese influence, according to Jeff. Kingston, a Japanese expert at Temple University, USA.

"Both sides now see the benefits of reducing tensions. A part of the permafrost has thawed, but there are still other layers of ice between the two countries, not only in territorial disputes, but also in disagreements. history, "he added.

China and Japan are both leading economies globally. Therefore, any deterioration in bilateral relations can lead to serious divisions in the world.

As nCoV is constantly spreading in many other regions of the world and threatening global economic prospects, China and Japan seem to be focusing on something that both countries are interested in and bring benefits to both sides. .

"The outbreak of Covid-19 is a stressful challenge for bilateral relations, so it would be a smart choice if it turned a problem that was causing anxiety more positive. That poem is helping. inspire better parts of each person, "says Kingston.