Maritime talks won’t thaw Sino-Japan ties: analysts

China on Thursday demanded sincerity and concrete actions from Japan to improve relations between the two countries following recent high-level Sino-Japan talks on maritime affairs, the first such talks in more than two years since the souring of bilateral ties over islet disputes.

The two-day talks concluded in Qingdao, East China's Shandong Province on Wednesday. Officials from the two countries' foreign ministries, defense ministries and maritime affairs departments were in attendance.

According to China's foreign ministry, China and Japan exchanged their views on issues related to the East China Sea, where a group of islets are at the center of the two countries' territorial disputes, as well as maritime cooperation. They agreed in principle to revive a bilateral maritime security liaison mechanism, and also agreed to have one more round of talks no later than the beginning of next year.

While Japanese media voiced their expectations that the talks could improve bilateral ties and pave the way for a summit meeting, Chinese experts denied the possibility of the talks serving as an icebreaker, saying the road to détente would be long and arduous.

The key for a détente between the two countries lies in whether Japan can make a sincere effort to break the deadlock, Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for China's foreign ministry, told a regular press conference Thursday.

According to Chinese experts, the talks were limited to maritime affairs, which will do little to ease tensions between the two countries.

"Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the Yasukuni Shrine, and his government still denies Japan's invasion of China during World War II. How can tensions ease under these conditions?" Zhou Yongsheng, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University told the Global Times, adding that Tokyo only intended to use the maritime affairs talks to boost its image around the world. Zhou urged Japan to face up to history and reality to remove the barriers affecting Sino-Japan relations.

Zhou's view was echoed by Lü Yaodong, a research fellow with the Institute of Japanese Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Lü said Japan has broken promises it made in four political agreements signed with China since 1972, removing the basis for a possible détente between the two countries.

"Whether the tensions ease depends entirely on Japan," Lü said, adding that he did not see the possibility of improved ties in the near future.

Experts also pointed out that the failure of a group of visiting Japanese businesses to meet with top Chinese leaders also bode poorly for Sino-Japan relations.

A 200-strong visiting Japanese business group that included some of Japan's top business leaders failed to secure a meeting with China's president and premier as expected this week, according to the Chinese version of Nikkei Asian Review, a Japan-based news publication.

Instead, they met with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang.

Japan is concerned that the current political tensions between the two countries have affected economic ties, and would like both countries' top leaders to talk during an upcoming APEC meeting in November, the report said.

"China can never separate politics from economics when it comes to Sino-Japan relations. Japan has to correct its attitude toward history and territorial disputes with China if it wishes to deepen economic cooperation," said Liang Fang, a professor at the PLA National Defense University. She also predicted that Japan's economy will suffer if it insists on being stubborn.

As for the November APEC meeting in Beijing, experts voiced their view that a scheduled visit by Abe could help thaw frosty relations if he approaches the summit with a sincere attitude, but added that they didn't expect any fundamental change from Abe's administration.

Tensions between China and Japan increased after Tokyo's so-called nationalization of the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea in September 2012.