Taro Aso finished his first China visit as Japanese prime minister in the whirl of the international financial crisis. Instead of the hawkish attitude toward China that Aso displayed before he came into power, his China tour showcased a prime minister with more pragmatic views.

On October 24, Aso met with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in Beijing before attending the Seventh Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). Aso reaffirmed his commitment to the principles of the four important political documents: the 1972 joint statement, the 1978 China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship, the 1998 joint declaration and the joint statement signed in May this year. He also stressed the importance of developing mutually beneficial cooperation in line with the spirit of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship and furthering strategic and reciprocal relations, while disavowing the so-called "China threat" theory.

Observers have closely watched Aso's China stance, worrying that his hawkish behavior might adversely affect the Sino-Japanese relationship. Zheng Donghui, an expert on Japanese studies from the China Institute of International Studies, explained the change of Aso's China policy to Beijing Review.

"Even if Aso wanted to take a stronger stance, now is not the right time," Zheng said. "The current domestic, regional and international political, economic and security situations do not allow him to do so."

With its strong economic reliance on the United States, Japan has suffered greatly from the global financial crisis, Zheng said. That economic reliance includes commodity markets and foreign trade, as well as the capital market. As the Japanese stock market continues to slide, many Japanese banks face a serious credit crisis. Last month the Japanese parliament passed an $18-billion emergency spending plan after the Nikkei index experienced its biggest single-day drop in 20 years. Zheng said the financial crisis is now spreading to Japan's real economy.

According to the Japanese Ministry of Finance, Japan's foreign trade surplus decreased 85.6 percent in the first half of 2008 over the same period last year. The surplus in September fell even more, down 94.1 percent over last September. Japanese exports to the United States in September decreased 10.9 percent compared to the same time last year.