Foreign and Military Affairs

Cheng may replace Cui as top Japan envoy

By Zhang Jin (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-01-07 08:50

Cheng Yonghua, China's ambassador to South Korea, is likely to replace Cui Tiankai as the nation's top envoy in Japan, a well-placed source told China Daily Wednesday.

This follows Cui's appointment Monday as a vice-minister of foreign affairs. Cheng is likely to take charge in March.

Tokyo approved the appointment Wednesday after China put forward his name earlier, the source said.

The destination country's nod for the appointment of ambassadors is a diplomatic courtesy.

Cheng's appointment is a sign of Beijing's willingness to strengthen integration in the East Asian region, analysts said.

Cheng, 56, is considered an expert on the region, and is believed to possess in-depth knowledge of Japanese affairs.

Cheng has served as the deputy chief of mission at the Chinese embassy in Japan and as deputy director of the Foreign Ministry's department of Asian affairs.

Cheng may replace Cui as top Japan envoy

Unlike his predecessor, "Cheng has been a Japan hand even before taking up the job," Kato Yoshikazu, a Japanese writer and commentator, said Wednesday, adding the appointment signals a U-turn in China's strategy regarding the selection of its top envoy for the neighbor.

Cheng's key task will be to "push forward Sino-Japanese ties and further promote regional integration", said Niu Zhongjun, a foreign affairs specialist at the Beijing-based China Foreign Affairs University.

The worst financial crisis in seven decades - which plunged Japan and South Korea into recessions and hit China hard - will definitely accelerate regional integration, Niu said.

"Countries usually strengthen cooperation after a major economic downturn," he said.

The currency swap cooperation among the East Asian trio and China's recent free trade agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are indications of increased regional integration, the expert said.

Yet, the immediate task before Cheng is to coordinate the stalled Six-Party Talks on de-nuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, which, analysts said, was likely to resume after the Spring Festival break next month.

Cheng was assisting Wu Dawei, the chief Chinese negotiator in the Six-Party Talks, earlier.

Sino-Japanese ties are "steady and good since Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama took over in September", Niu said.

However, thorny issues such as disputes over the East China Sea oil and gas fields may prick Sino-Japanese ties in the long run, he said.

Bilateral ties also face uncertainty since "it is unsure whether the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in Japan will continue its China-friendly policies in the face of domestic pressure," Niu said.

It is as yet unclear who will replace Cheng, but a prominent South Korean newspaper, Chosun Ilbo, reported recently that career diplomat Yang Houlan may take up the top job.

Yang has worked as the deputy chief of mission and minister counselor at the Chinese embassies in Seoul and Pyongyang. He was ambassador to Afghanistan from 2007 to 2009.

The Foreign Ministry did not comment on Cheng's appointment Wednesday.