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Japan Calls Business Back from China
Japanese government sealed late last week the 2005 White Book for Foreign Trade and Economy, where it officially speaks of China as of a dubious partner and calls for the search or other countries to invest. Russia is in the list of potential partners, though with grand reservations.
In the White Book, the government of Japan advisers all investors not to invest much in China, first of all, because pirate copies are made in that country in unprecedented numbers. Besides, China is expected to face the growth in production costs caused by the higher wages and will have to tackle serious problems with energy supply. Moreover, the White Book points to the specific risks of Japan in that country, mentioning the wave of the big anti-Japan rallies held in a raft of big cities past April. Tokyo is blaming Beijing for them, while China accuses Japan of reluctance to properly seek apology for the last century’s invasion.
The report obviously contradicts the recent policy pursued by Japan in relation to China, where the stake was made on investments. Bilateral turnover of the countries reached nearly $180 billion in 2004, compared to the meager $9 billion between Japan and Russia. China has become the number one trading partner of Japan, with even the United States unable to catch up with it
But it seems Japan has failed to attain the target. Beijing appears to be thinking of it as of the future technological appendage and the rich buyer of Chinese goods, never able to contradict the powerful neighbor.
In the White Book, Tokyo is endeavoring to persuade entrepreneurs to open their companies in the South-Eastern Asia or India rather than in China, as the labor costs are minimal there and the extent of political risks is far less. Russia is also mentioned among the countries to be eyed. The rates of its economic growth are not bad and Russia has grand intellectual and technological potential built in time of the former USSR. But good commercial opportunities have not rooted there, generally depending on the crude prices, while the intellectual achievements of the country have so far failed to be implemented in some definite successful projects.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of July 04, 2005
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