China, Japan Join Hands in Fighting Catastrophic Quake, Tsunami

China and Japan, whose historical ties can be described as shaky at best, have drawn closer in the face of Japan's recent 9.0-magnitude quake and ensuing tsunami.

The massive quake and tsunami, which devastated northeastern Japan on March 11, left over at least 11,400 people dead and over 16,200 others unaccounted for by Thursday morning.

In recent years, the China-Japan relationship was soured by senior Japanese officials' controversial visits to the notorious Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, which honors some 2.5 million Japanese war casualties, including 14 top war criminals.

The ties reached another historic low after a Chinese trawler collided with two Japanese Coast Guard vessels and Japanese authorities arrested the trawler's captain in waters off the Diaoyu Islands last September.

However, after the recent quake and tsunami, China immediately expressed its deep sympathies and offered aid to Japan, while Japan helped some Chinese nationals escape the deadly quake and evacuate from the disaster zone.

As China and Japan are neighboring countries separated only by a narrow strip of water, the Chinese people deeply feel the pain the Japanese people are suffering.

On March 14, Chinese President Hu Jintao offered condolences to Japanese Emperor Akihito over the disasters and pledged to help. Four days later, President Hu paid a visit to the Japanese Embassy in Beijing to again express his condolences.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao also twice expressed condolences to Japan and promised to help.

After the quake, China swiftly provided 30 million yuan (US$4.5 million) in aid to Japan and sent an international rescue team to the quake-hit zone. Later, China offered 10,000 tons of gasoline, 10,000 tons of diesel and more material aid to Japan.

Many Chinese people, particularly netizens, have expressed their condolences and encouragement to the Japanese people.

Meanwhile, some Chinese nationals in the quake-hit region were being rescued or helped by Japanese.

For example, just after the quake, a 59-year-old Japanese man called Mitsuru Sato helped evacuate 20 Chinese trainees to a shrine on higher ground in Japan's Miyagi prefecture shortly before a tsunami engulfed the place where they had stayed. Sato himself was later swallowed by the tsunami when he returned to a dormitory to alert other quake survivors.

Moreover, Japan's local governments and some Japanese people helped the Chinese embassy evacuate about 7,200 Chinese nationals from the quake zone to Tokyo and Niigata.

Meanwhile, memories of Japan's swift aid to China after the Wenchuan quake which struck southwestern China in May 2008 emerged. During that disaster, the Japanese rescue team was the first international one to reach the quake zone.

Facts show that China and Japan, despite the ups and downs in their relations in recent years, have joined hands to support each other during the latest quake and tsunami disasters, the common enemies of mankind.

The mutual understanding, support and cooperation demonstrated during the process have strengthened the ties between the two countries, brought the two peoples closer, and perhaps even helped close old wounds.

It is reasonable to believe China and Japan, if they continue to interact in a spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation, can solve their disputes better in the future and steadily improve their ties.