Competition and cooperation in maritime trade: The dynamics of Sino-Japanese relations in the context of geopolitical tensions

Maritime trade is a key component of the economies of China and Japan, the two leading powers in East Asia. In the context of globalization and increasing international trade flows, the ports of these countries play a central role in ensuring efficient logistics and transportation of goods and act as a barometer of foreign trade. The importance of maritime trade for both countries is due to their geographical location, the development of port infrastructure, and the growing needs for international supplies. Sino-Japanese trade relations and interaction in the port and related areas are a complex and multifaceted process, and are also an important aspect of economic and geopolitical interaction in the Asia-Pacific region. On the one hand, the countries seek joint projects and technological innovations to improve the efficiency of ports and logistics. On the other hand, geopolitical factors and competition for influence create tensions in their relations. Despite the historical and political differences between Japan and China, complicated by the tense U.S.-China confrontation, the potential for improving trade ties, joint work in the field of maritime infrastructure development, logistics and port economy has not yet been lost or exhausted.
Based on the historical context, the article analyzes the current state and potential directions for the development of bilateral cooperation between China and Japan in the areas of mutual trade and modernization of seaport infrastructure as a tool for this cooperation. The study includes periodization of the relations of both countries in the field of maritime transport and foreign trade. Particular attention is paid to analyzing the maritime profiles of China and Japan, identifying key factors of economic and geopolitical competition between the two countries while taking into account the peculiarities of the economy, geography, and strategies for the development of port facilities of the two countries. The current indicators of bilateral trade are assessed, regional and global economic and strategic aspects of competition between the countries in the field of port infrastructure are studied, and the current political risks and opportunities caused by the complex geopolitical situation in the Asia-Pacific region are assessed.

1. Bulatov, A., Rebrei, S., & Senyuk, N. (2019). Perspektivy ekonomicheskoi globalizatsii Yaponii. [Prospects for Japan's Economic Globalization]. In A. Bulatov (ed.), Perspektivy ekonomicheskoi globalizatsii [Prospects for Economic Globalization] (pp. 511—528). Moscow: KNORUS. (In Russian).

2. Dong, W. (2024). Evolyutsiya roli Kitaya v Aziatsko-Tikhookeanskom regione [The Evolution of China's Role in the Asia-Pacific Region]. SShA i Kanada: ekonomika, politika, kul'tura [US and Canada: Economy, Politics, Culture], 8 (656), 63—73. URL: https://doi.org/10.31857/S2686673024080064 (In Russian).

3. Elistratov, A. & Piloyan, M. (2021). Vneshnyaya torgovlya Yaponii: istoriko-ekonomicheskii analiz [Japan's Foreign Trade: Historical and Economic Analysis]. Zhurnal istoricheskikh issledovanii [Journal of Historical Research], 6 (2), 7—13. (In Russian).

4. Gordeeva, I. (2020). Initsiativa Kitaya «Odin poyas, odin put'» i pozitsiya Yaponii: konfrontatsiya ili vzaimodeistvie? [China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Japan’s Position: Confrontation or Cooperation?]. Problemy Dal'nego Vostoka, 3, 53—66. URL: https://doi.org/10.31857/S013128120010378-6 (In Russian).

5. Kazantsev, A. (2023). Problema Yuzhno-Kitaiskogo i Vostochno-Kitaiskogo morei v kontekste istoricheskoi politiki Kitaya v otnoshenii Yaponii [The Problem of the South China and East China Seas in the Context of China's Historical Policy]. Yugo-Vostochnaya Aziya: aktual'nyye problemy razvitiya, Vol. 3, Is. 2 (59), 212—223. URL: https://doi.org/10.31696/2072-8271-2023-3-2-59-212-223 (In Russian).

6. Kireeva, A. (2025). Yaponiya v kontekste kitaisko-amerikanskoi konfrontatsii [Japan in the Context of the Chinese-American Confrontation]. In D. Streltsov (ed.), «Novaya kholodnaya voina» v Azii. Global'noe i regional'noe izmerenie [«New Cold War» in Asia. Global and Regional Dimension] (pp. 67—102). Moscow: Aspekt Press. (In Russian).

7. Kistanov, V. (2018). Kitai i Yaponiya: khronika otnoshenii [China and Japan: Chronicle of Relations]. In S. Luzyanin (ed.), Kitaiskaya Narodnaya Respublika: politika, ekonomika, kul'tura 2017—2018 [People's Republic of China: Politics, Economy, Culture 2017—2018] (pp.315—321). Moscow: Forum. (In Russian).

8. Lebedeva, I. (2015). Yaponiya v XXI veke: vzglyady i otsenki rossiiskikh yaponovedov [Japan in the 21 st Century: Views and Assessments of Russian Japanologists]. In D. Streltsov (ed.), Sovremennoe rossiiskoe yaponovedenie: oglyadyvayas' na put' dlinoyu v chetvert' veka [Contemporary Russian Japanese Studies: Looking Back at the Quarter-Century-Long Path] (pp. 386—436). Moscow: AIRO-XXI. (In Russian).

9. Morozov, Yu. (2020). Global'nye pozitsii Kitaya i perspektivy ikh razvitiya v XXI veke [Global Positions of China and Prospects for Their Development in the 21 st Century]. Kitai v mirovoi i regional'noi politike. Istoriya i sovremennost', 25 (25), 80—95. URL: https://doi.org/10.24411/2618-6888-2020-10005 (In Russian).

10. Nelidov, V. & Streltsov, D. (2025). Yaponiya v «novoi kholodnoi voine»: put' k «normal'nomu gosudarstvu» [Japan in the «New Cold War»: The Path to a «Normal State»]. In D. Streltsov (ed.) «Novaya kholodnaya voina» v Azii. Global'noe i regional'noe izmerenie [«New Cold War» in Asia. Global and Regional Dimension] (pp. 46—67). Moscow: Aspekt Press. (In Russian).

11. Semenova, N.K. (2023). Morskie porty Kitaya: sovremennoe sostoyanie i perspektivy razvitiya [Seaports of China: Current Status and Development Prospects]. Moscow: Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. (In Russian).

12. Shulga, N. (2018). Yapono-kitaiskoe ekonomicheskoe sotrudnichestvo, vliyanie Yaponii na rost ekonomiki Kitaya [Japanese-Chinese Economic Cooperation, Japan's Influence on China's Economic Growth]. In Nauka segodnya: global'nye vyzovy i mekhanizmy razvitiya [Science Today: Global Challenges and Development Mechanisms], Part 2 (pp. 124—127). Vologda: OOO «Marker». (In Russian).

13. Timonina, I. (2023). Yaponiya v global'noi ekonomike: realii i prognozy XXI veka [Japan in the Global Economy: Realities and Forecasts of the 21st Century]. In A. Bulatov, N. Galishcheva, M. Maksakova (eds.), Novye trendy v ekonomicheskoi globalizatsii [New Trends in Economic Globalization] (pp. 193—215). Moscow: Aspekt Press. (In Russian).

14. Urazaeva, F. (2018). Yaponiya i Kitai: sotrudnichestvo v Vostochnoi Azii [Japan and China: Cooperation in East Asia]. Voprosy politologii, Vol. 8, Is. 10 (38), 824—830. (In Russian).

15. Yaponiya: sobytiya 11 marta 2011 goda. Itogi i uroki [Japan: Events of March 11, 2011. Results and Lessons]. (2012). Ed. by S. Markaryants, E. Molodyakova. Moscow: AIRO-XXI. (In Russian).

16. Burns, K.G. (2000). China and Japan: Economic Partnership to Political Ends. Stimson Center, Economic Confidence-Building and Regional Security, 27—58.

17. Mayers, W.F. & King, C. (1867). The Treaty Ports of China and Japan: A Complete Guide to the Open Ports of Those Countries, Together with Peking, Yedo, Hongkong and Macao. In Forming a Guide Book & Vade Mecum for Travellers, Merchants, and Residents in General. London: Trubner and Company.

18. Nagy, S.R. (2013). Territorial Disputes, Trade and Diplomacy: Examining the repercussions of the Sino-Japanese territorial dispute on bilateral trade. China Perspectives, 4, 46—57. URL: https://doi.org/10.4000/chinaperspectives.6321

19. Nagy, S.R. (2023). Re-defining the ASEAN—Japan Relationship. East Asia Forum Quarterly, 15 (3), 27—30. URL: https://doi.org/10.59425/eabc.1697148022

20. Schulze, K. & Blechinger-Talcott, V. (2019). Introduction Special Issue: Dimensions of Sino-Japanese Rivalry in a Global Context. The Pacific Review, 32, 725—747. URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/09512748.2019.1569116

21. Urata, S. (2007). The Creation of Regional Production Networks in Asia Pacific: The Case of Japanese Multinational Corporations. In Juan J. Palacios (ed.), Multinational Corporations and the Emerging Network Economy in Asia and the Pacific (pp. 114—138). London, Routledge.

22. Wu, Chongbo & Yao, Yungui. (2018). Riben Haiyang Jingji Fazhan yiji yu Zhongguo de Jingzheng Hezuo [The Development of Japan’s Marine Economy and the Competition — Cooperation Relations Between Japan and China]. Contemporary Economy of Japan, 6 (222), 59—68. URL: https://doi.org/10.16123/j.cnki.issn.1000-355x.2018.06.006

23. Zhang, Muhui. (2024). Sino-Japanese Third-Party Market Cooperation: Asymmetries of Economic Diplomacy and Politico-Economic Gaps. Japanese Journal of Political Science, 25 (1), 1—20. URL: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1468109923000269

24. Zhang, Youyi. (2019). Third-Party Market Cooperation Under the Belt and Road Initiative: Progress, Challenges, and Recommendations. China International Strategy Review, 1, 310—329. URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42533-019-00026-7